Beyond The Twin Moons
by CGAdamW4
Summary: The Blitz Team finds itself on an alien world, with nothing more than their Zoids, the Hovercargo, and themselves for protection- and they'll need protection. Sequel to "Of Ligers and Organoids," second in a series.
1. Disclaimer

__

Disclaimer: _I do not own Zoids or any of the registered characters therein. Goldy, her world, and the characters there I do. Also, in light of several e-mails I received recently, I've decided to post this story one chapter at a time. So, here's hoping you enjoy this one as much as the first. We now present you with the first chapter of the sequel to _Of Ligers and Organoids…_Beyond The Twin Moons._


	2. Arrival on a strange world and Battle Mo...

"So… any idea what we do now?" Jamie asked weakly. 

"Not really," the Doc replied, his voice equally shaky. "I wasn't expecting to get shot to another planet."

Brad couldn't say anything. He was staring out the window, at the six moons that hung in the greenish-red sky, and at the strangely blue sun. The landscape looked like an endless stretch of rolling orange sand dunes. 

Bit spoke first. "I'll tell you what we can do," he said, sounding angry. "We can ask the thing Leena calls a pet what she did!" He pointed at the gold creature standing beside Leena. 

The creature was one of the legendary organoids, and this one was originally thought to be only one left alive on planet Zi. Able to merge with a zoid and increase its combat abilities greatly, it had been 'found' by Bit, and instantly hated him, for complicated reasons. It had stalked and tried to kill him for nearly one month, chasing him in the Liger all the way back to the Toros base with only the basic Zero unit for defense. However, once Bit had made it back, the organoid was nearly killed in its next attack on him- ironically, by Leena. 

The organoid had fused with Leena's gunsniper in a last-ditch effort to save itself, and had been successful. Though Bit had wanted to kill it, he was overruled by the rest of the team. A few days later, the organoid had emerged with a telepathic bond to Leena. She quickly dubbed it 'Goldy,' and revealed it to be a female. Though Goldy had proved to a formidable ally in battle, she was harsh to anyone aside from Leena, and quickly lost interest in combat. She had asked Leena to bring her home. Leena had done her best to comply, and the end result was they were now _somehow_ on another planet, with Bit glaring angrily at Leena and Goldy both.

"Easy, Bit," the Doc said. "Getting angry won't help. But you're right, we should try and get a few answers." He looked down at the organoid. "What exactly did you do?"

Goldy gave Leena an annoyed look. _Why is everyone acting so foolish? You did say you wanted to meet my family, right?_

"Yes, we did," Leena said, ignoring the looks of the others. Only she and Bit, because of his similar link with the Liger, were actually able to understand Goldy's growling speech. "But we didn't expect to be hurled to another planet!"

"You sort of failed to mention you had to do that for us to _meet_ your family," Bit said furiously, turning away from the window. "I doubt any of would have agreed to come if we knew you came from somewhere so far away!"

Goldy gave what seemed like a condescending sigh. _Am I correct in guessing you think you cannot get home?_

"That would be exactly right!" Bit yelled.

__

You are too foolish for words, Goldy sneered at Bit. _I wouldn't take Leena anywhere she couldn't get back to her home from. You, the others, I might. But since you're with her, you're _fairly_ safe._

A great tension lifted from Leena's face. "So… you can send us home any time you want?"

__

Any time at all. Just ask.

Leena gave a sigh of relief. "It's okay, guys. Goldy says she can send us home the same way she brought us here whenever we want."

A long, dead silence filled the bridge. Finally, Jamie asked sheepishly, "So… we're not stuck?"

__

Not at all.

A laugh of nervous relief escaped as Leena translated Goldy's final answer. The organoid herself, for one, seemed to have enjoyed throwing everyone into a panic for a few minutes. 

"So," Brad said, "now that it seems we're not going to be stuck away from our world for the rest of our lives, what do we do?"

"I say we go meet Goldy's family," Jamie said excitedly. "A whole group of organoids? No one's ever even seen _one_ until recently, let alone a family group."

"There's one thing I want to get clear before we go anywhere," the Doc interrupted. He looked at Goldy. "How is it you sent us to your world? We were at the same ancient tomb you came out of in the first place."

Goldy growled out a response. "She says it's just common technology here," she said. "What it was doing under a tomb in our world she doesn't know, but how she ended up there was an accident."

"An accident?" Bit asked. "What does that mean?"

__

A planetary transport went wrong, Goldy responded. _I don't know why. _She seemed to be getting impatient. _Can we get moving? I want to go home._

"No problem," Jamie said after Leena translated. He reached for the controls, then hesitated. "Where are we going?"

_Sixteen miles, directly south,_ Goldy responded. _That should put us near my home._

"And that puts us about fifteen minutes away," Jamie replied. He tapped the controls. "We're moving out now."

Goldy could barely hold still as they began to move forward. She kept hissing and growling, excited at the prospect of seeing her family again. Her enthusiasm was contagious; by the time they traveled most of the distance, everyone except Bit could barely sit still.

Jamie peered out the viewscreen as the reached the region Goldy had indicated. "Do your people live in caves?"

Goldy snorted. _Do you think we are primitives? There is a massive city just ahead._

"What city?" Leena asked. She looked out at the area.

The organoid seemed baffled. _This… is not right. There _should_ be a city right here! _

"There's not," Bit said dryly. "Are you sure this is the right area?"

She wheeled on him and snarled nastily. Just as quickly, she turned to Jamie. _Show me the area!_

Jamie nodded as Leena translated. He tapped a few keys and brought up his scans of the region. "We're here, in the center. I can scan the area within fifty miles. There's no structures at all anywhere."

Goldy stared at the screen, trying to figure out what was going on. _When I ended up on your world, I was in transport from my city. I believed that we would be sent to a short distance off my original starting point. That's how every other transport accident has been resolved._

"So where does that put us?" Leena asked.

Goldy looked hard at the area. _We're a good distance from home. _She seemed somewhat troubled by that._ We must be very cautious. This area may be enemy territory._

Bit and Leena both stared at her. "I assume from you're tone we're not talking about rival organoids?" Leena asked cautiously, Bit translating for the others.

_Much more dangerous. They use units similar to your zoids, although I don't know exactly how powerful they are._

Bit stood up and started for the door, while Leena translated Goldy's warning. "Doc, can you get the Jager ready for me? I'm going out there."

"I don't know if that's wise," Toros cautioned. "Like Goldy said, we don't know what we might be up against."

"We don't have reason to believe we'll even be considered enemies," Leena pointed out. "If there is anyone out there, they might just let us go without a second glance."

"I doubt there's anything like the Hovercargo around here," Brad countered. "This guys, whoever they are, might think we're some kind of new weapon carrier."

"They'd be right," Jamie said dryly. "Between the four zoids in our hold, and the Hovercargo's integrated weapons, we've got the firepower of a small country on board."

"That's why I'm going out in the Jager," Bit said firmly. "I want to scout around a little, and that's the best unit for it. I can move so fast in that thing even if there is an 'enemy' around, they won't be able to catch me."

The Doc considered, then nodded. "Fine. But you're not going alone. This isn't our home; we don't know anything about anything out here."

Bit grinned and clapped his hand on Jamie's shoulder. "Then I suggest Jamie and I go out."

"Me?" Jamie squeaked. "Why me? Brad's zoid is more on the same level as yours."

"Because between the two of you, you've got the fastest zoids on the team," the Doc said, stroking his chin. "_And_ you're a flyer, Jamie. You can do air recon."

Jamie nodded reluctantly, seeing the logic. "Okay. Let's get going." He and Bit headed off the bridge.

A frown crossed Brad's expression as they left. "Hey, Doc? They can breathe the air here, right?"

"Looks like it," Toros replied, looking at his sensors. "Normal level of all gases, gravity's fine, so on and so forth. No environmental problems I see from here." 

"Just checking."

* * *

Bit checked his controls as he switched over to the Jager. "Everything look okay to you, Liger?"

_All systems functioning normally. Ready for combat, if need be._

"Good," Bit said.

_This is not Zi, is it?_

Bit nodded and gave a half laugh as he continued checks. "That's putting it mildly. Right now, we've got a red-green sky, a blue sun, and six moons hanging over our heads."

_It was clear instantly that this was not Zi. Organoids are everywhere here._

Bit froze. "You can hear them?"

_Sense is more like it. Many are all over this planet._

"Any close by?" Bit asked, chest tightening. 

_No. And none are aware of the team, yet._

Bit let out an uneasy breath. "Let's just hope they're not all like Goldy." He keyed his radio. "Okay, doc, the conversion is finished. Open the door and we'll launch."

~ Acknowledged. ~ The Hovercargo's magnetic launcher door slid open, and the Jager was cycled up into the strange sunlight. ~ Activating ramp now. ~

Bit was too tense to give any kind of battle yell as the Jager flew from the Hovercargo. Jamie followed seconds later, bringing the Raynos into a low flight next to him.

~ Bit, Jamie, ~ the Doc instructed, ~ tie your zoid's scanners into the Hovercargo's computers. That'll let us see what ever you do. ~

"Sounds good," Bit agreed.

~ Done, ~ Jamie said. ~ I'm going up higher to get a better look around. ~ He pulled back on the Raynos' controls, soaring into the air. "Okay, I'm up to ten thousand feet. The area is still nothing but desert. And I don't see any settlements, either."

~ View's not much different down here, ~ Bit reported. ~ Just desert and mountains a ways further away. ~

~ Are either of you getting anything on your radar? ~ the Doc asked.

~ I'm not, ~ Bit said. ~ Nothing's out here. ~ 

Toros let out a breath. "Okay. Let's start moving again. Goldy, which way are we heading?"

The organoid growled a response. "She says keep going south," Leena translated. "We'll run into it sooner or later."

~ I'm staying out here, Doc, ~ Bit reported. ~ I can keep scouting ahead, give some advance warning if we come up against something hostile. ~

~ I'll scout ahead of Bit, ~ Jamie suggested. ~ That'll give a few more seconds warning at least. ~

Toros nodded. "Brad, take the helm. Keep us moving forward about seven hundred meters behind the Jager."

"You got it, Doc." Brad slid into Jamie's usual seat, tapping the Hovercargo's controls. He glanced over at Leena. "Tell me something," he said quietly. "Just how much danger are we in?"

"I can't be sure," she replied, speaking in the same low tone. "But Goldy seems to think we have to be careful."

Brad sighed and turned back to his instruments. "I just wish we had more to go on than that."

Despite everyone's nervousness, and Goldy's warnings, the Hovercargo proceeded unbothered. In fact, they didn't see anything aside from desert for a long time.

Then, abruptly, something appeared on Jamie's scanner. "Hey! I've got a blip!"

Bit clutched his controls. "Where did it come from?"

~ Can't tell. Nothing in our database matches- not that it _would_. But it's not an animal, and it's not a building. It's moving and metal, ~ Jamie reported uneasily.

"I'm starting to get it now too," Bit reported. "One small blip, approximately fifteen hundred meters. But I can't tell if it's a weapon, or something else. Or why we didn't pick it up until we were almost on top of it."

Toros mused for a second before responding. "Let's not take any chances. Brad, Leena, go take the Hovercargo's guns. I'll take over piloting."

Brad slid out of his seat. "We never should have come," he growled to himself. Leena followed, though silently. Goldy stayed on the bridge, staring out of the viewscreen.

"I'll go see if I can't get a visual on it," Jamie said. He pulled back on the Raynos' controls, soaring higher into the air. 

A few seconds later, he was looking down on an odd-looking machine. It was like no machine he'd ever seen before, with no zoid-like features at all. It stood about three meters tall, made of greenish metal. It was slightly humanoid in appearance, standing on two legs, with two arms. Its body was oblong, a vague oval shape, and had a rounded, dome-like head. But there was no discernable face, and one of its arms ended in what was clearly some kind of firearm. "I found it," he reported. "It's a weird looking thing."

~ Does it see you? ~ the Doc asked tensely.

"I don't think so," Jamie replied. "But he _is_ moving towards you, Bit. Watch yourself."

~ No problem. I can't get a good read on him, he's too far away. Can you give me a scan on his unit's power? ~ Bit asked.

"I'll try," Jamie said. He ran his scans through the Raynos' computer. "It doesn't look too dangerous," he said, puzzled. "Power levels look lower than a cannon tortoise."

Bit frowned. "Strange. The way Goldy was reacting, I thought we'd be up against something stronger." 

"Assuming that's an enemy," the Doc pointed out. He looked at the Organoid. "Is this an enemy?" A picture of the strange device appeared on the screen. 

Goldy's response was unmistakable, even for someone who couldn't understand the organoid's speech. There could be no way to mistake her sudden crouching posture, and the way she bared all her teeth in a vicious snarl.

This was _definitely _an enemy.

The radio crackled. ~ I'm moving in for a closer look, ~ Bit reported. ~ I need to know if that power curve Jamie read is right or not. ~

"Watch yourself, Bit," Toros cautioned. "We'll hold position here. Jamie, you keep an eye on things up there. If Bit gets in trouble, bail him out."

~ Got it, Doc. ~

They all watched tensely as Bit crept forward, the Liger looking like a real cat stalking its prey. Bit got to within seven hundred meters before the strange device reacted. It seemed to straighten, and Jamie suddenly got some new readings. "Careful, Bit! Its power just doubled!"

~ That's still no real threat, ~ Bit said, still sounding puzzled. ~ It's barely on the level with a construction equipped Gordos. Can you tell if the pilot actually sees me, or is just picking up my emissions? ~

"I don't know," Jamie said helplessly. "What am I, a mind reader?"

~ I'm getting closer, ~ Bit said firmly. 

"Kill your radio," Brad suggested quickly. "He might be able to pick up on your transmissions."

~ Right. ~ The Liger's radio cut out. The Doc kept the Liger up on screen, watching it sneak closer to the strange machine.

Bit's jaw tightened as he moved closer. "Can you get a sense on how strong this thing is, Liger?"

_No. This… machine is unreadable._

"Great. Then we just have to stay on guard." He glanced at his radar screen. "Forty meters to target."

They got to within ten meters when the Liger's voice suddenly roared a warning. _The enemy has fired! Look out!_

Bit hardly managed to dodge the energy beam that suddenly ripped through the sand. However, he didn't waste any time on landing. As soon as the Liger's paws hit the ground, he charged his zoid forward, its claws glowing. 

A second later, the Jager stood over the still sparking remains of the smaller unit. Bit fired up his radio. "Got him, Doc. No problems at-"

Bit never got a chance to finish his sentence. The Liger's sudden roar was the only thing that warned him of another attack in time. He forced his zoid sideways as another energy beam rippled across the sand. He looked around wildly. "Where did _that_ come from?!" 

_Eight o'clock! Three more enemies!_

Bit wheeled around, the three units appearing on his viewer. One was partially emerged from the sand, its weapon arm smoking. Two others were barely out of the sand, only the rounded domes that might pass as heads showing. He gritted his teeth. "Three to one, Liger. Think we can handle it?"

_These enemies appear far weaker than any other opponents previously faced. _Bit swore he heard a cocky tone in the Liger's voice. _Compared to the copies faced earlier, this should be no problem at all._

Bit grinned, his apprehension fading. "Right. Let's do this." He settled into his seat, examining his sensors. "That first one that shot at us looks like it's recharging, and the other two don't seem to be at full power yet." 

Brad snorted over the radio. ~ These guys really are wimps. ~

~ Watch yourself anyway! ~ Jamie warned. ~ It looks like there's more of these things, a dozen of them! They're about three miles away, and moving toward you! ~

Bit frowned, keeping an eye on the other three. "How fast are they moving?"

~ Not fast, the Hovercargo can outrun them. But unless we get moving within the next ten minutes, we're going have to fight another twelve of them! ~

"Then we'll end this fast," Bit growled. "Let's get 'em, Liger!" 

The blue zoid roared, throwing power to its ion boosters, claws glowing a brilliant gold. One quick slash brought cleaved the leader in two pieces. A second rush, and another unit, still struggling to get out of the sand, collapsed, sparking. The third unit got off one shot, grazing the Liger's armor, before the Liger's blazing claws brought it down. 

The entire fight took less than thirty seconds.

Bit brought the Liger to a halt, suddenly aware he hadn't been breathing. He let out a gasp, then inhaled. "They're down."

~ So we see, ~ the Doc replied, clearly impressed. ~ Tell me, did you notice any pilots? ~ 

Bit glanced at the wreckage on his screens. "It doesn't look like there are any. I think they're automated units."

~ And they were easily defeated? ~

"Just a scratch on the armor," Bit said confidently. 

"I see you didn't notice _where _that thing hit you," Brad said dryly from his gun. "A few degrees in the wrong direction, and your cockpit would have been hit. Think you could have survived that?"

There was a long silence. The Doc cleared his throat quickly, trying to keep them from dwelling on that. "You came out just fine, Bit," Toros reassured him. "Brad, Leena, you two can come down from the guns. I don't think we'll need you up there."

~ Sure thing, Dad. ~  
~ Got it, Doc. ~

"I'm going to stay out here," Jamie reported. "Maybe I can see if there's anything else like that thing ahead."

~ Agreed, ~ Bit said. ~ I prefer not to let my guard down yet. Don't forget, that second group is still after us. ~

"Right, so we need to get moving as fast as we can," the Doc conceded. "Jamie, you lead Bit by half a kilometer, and we'll stay the same distance behind him. With any luck, those extra machines will stop chasing us after a little while"

~ Roger. ~

~ Okay, Doc. ~

The Raynos resumed its course to the south, Bit following a few seconds later, the Hovercargo a moment after that. 

Focused on the brief but intense battle, and thinking about the pursuing units, nobody on the Blitz team noticed a small flashing light on the automated units.

Three hundred miles away, however, a low-ranking officer noticed. "Sir? Medioguk unit 0054 has been disabled."

His commanding officer walked over, frowning. "Are you sure? When?"

"Positive, sir. They just went down a few seconds ago."

The senior frowned, tapping his chin. "That area is deep in our territory."

"Yes, sir." 

"Then who destroyed it?" he demanded. "We would have been notified if anyone from the other nations broke through this deep into our territory."

"I'm afraid I don't know, sir."

The senior officer stifled a sigh. _Curse the idiots who assigned me this brain-dead wreck of an officer_, he thought. "Are any of the video recorder units transmitting?"

"The black boxes?" The junior officer blinked. "I hadn't thought of that. One moment, please."

_Of course not,_ the senior thought disdainfully. _Why else would you be stationed at the wrong end of the planet? You're an idiot._

"I have visual, sir." The junior tapped a few keys, looking baffled. "But it's not any unit I've ever seen."

"Don't be stupid," the senior growled, his temper finally showing. "Just let me see it and I'll…" he trailed off, mouth dropping open as he watched the video playback of the Jager destroying the each of the units, then move away. "What kind of war machine is that?!"

"I don't know, sir." The younger officer hesitated. "Would you like me to contact central command?"

"Wait." He considered. "Are their any other units in pursuit?"

"Checking now, sir… yes. Unit 0053 went into chase mode six minutes ago."

"If what we just saw is any indication, they might not be a match for this new weapon." The senior paced for a minute, pondering. Abruptly, he turned back. "Are the Mediozaks prepped for air deployment?"

"Um…" he hit a few keys. "They can be launched in five minutes, sir."

"Launch their carriers. Tell the pilots to proceed to the coordinates of the pursuing Medioguk unit, then initiate a circular search pattern for the attacker. And…" His eyes gleamed. "Tell them to try and bring the unit in relatively undamaged. Whatever that thing is, it has considerable power. We may be able to use it."

* * *

Jamie wheeled the Raynos around, heading back to the Hovercargo, trying to fight down his growing sense of disappointment. Underneath him, blue stretched in all directions for as far as he could see. It stayed that way for another fifteen minutes, when he finally reached the shoreline. The Hovercargo was parked on the narrow sandy stretch that ended just before the blue. Jamie flipped on his radio. "It's no good, Doc. This isn't a little pond, it's a full fledged ocean."

~ Sure snuck up on us, ~ Brad grumbled. ~ How could our sensors miss something big until were less than a kilometer from it? ~

~ You're sure, Jamie? ~ Leena asked plaintively, ignoring Brad. ~ It's that big? ~

"I flew out for fifteen minutes at maximum speed," Jamie replied grimly. "That's a lot of distance, and there was no end in sight."

Inside the Hovercargo bridge, Brad let out a breath, not liking the taste of the words he had to say. "Then we have to take the Hovercargo in, don't we? There's no other way."

~ I don't like this, ~ Bit said uneasily. ~ We've never taken the Hovercargo underwater before. How is it going to hold up? ~

"I designed and built this machine," the Doc said, his voice firm. "It can take depths of five hundred meters for as long as we need it. We can even push it to thousand meters, if we don't get jarred around too much."

Goldy shuddered. _I hate the water, I hate the water, I **hate** the water…._

Leena gave her friend a sympathetic pat on the neck. "None of us likes the idea, Goldy. But if you say we need to go south, this the most direct route."

~ _I_ still say we go around, ~ Bit grumbled. ~ This thing can't go too far in either direction can it? ~

"No way to know unless you or Jamie do another recon trip," Brad pointed out. "Do you really want to stay put that long? Don't forget we've got more of those units after us." He checked the sensors. "According to scans, they'll be here in ten minutes. Do you want to fight twelve at once?"

~ They're pushovers! ~

"That doesn't mean they can't get off a lucky shot," Leena countered. "These things don't play by our rules, that's for sure."

"Not to mention they might have big brothers," Brad murmured.

_They do, _Goldy hissed. _Units at least three times as strong as the ones you faced._

~ Still adds up to zero in my book, ~ Bit snorted.

_They move in groups, _Goldy spat contemptuously. _Though you have some skills, are you prepared to take on wave after wave of opponents? Even if all four of us worked together, with support from this vessel, we would eventually be overwhelmed! _

~ Which means we _have _to take the Hovercargo into the ocean, ~ Bit sighed. ~ Okay, Doc. Open up the back door, I'm heading in. ~

~ Hold it, Bit! ~ Jamie yelled. ~ We've got company! ~

Toros' chest tightened. "The pursuing unit? I thought we still had time!"

~ It's not the little ones! ~ Jamie warned. ~ It looks like at least four aircraft, closing fast! They're big, too! Whale King sized, easy! ~

Brad glanced at Goldy. "Carriers?"

_Probably,_ Goldy admitted, Leena translating quickly. _We seem to have attracted the attention of whichever nation we are in_.

"Goldy, when we get out of here, you've a lot of explaining to do!" the Doc yelled. He slammed the comms. "Bit! Jamie! Get aboard before they get any closer! We'll head for the ocean, top speed!"

~ No good, ~ Bit said grimly. ~ The carriers are already dropping units. ~

Brad quickly switched the Hovercargo's screens to show the aircraft. There were indeed four of them, looking something like large boomerangs with jet engines, and bristling with armaments. Each of the four carriers had doors open at their bases, and large machines were dropping from them, their descent slowed by parachutes. Even from their distance, it was clear the machines were easily twice the height of the Liger. They stood on two legs, though, vaguely humanoid. Like the smaller units they had seen, each had two arms, one armed with the same type of energy weapon. The other, however had what was unmistakably a gattling weapon. The torso was more squareish than the small ones, with a rectangular head. 

Leena's breath leaked out in a hiss. "I don't like the look of those guns. How many of these things are there, Brad?"

"Twelve," Brad reported. "Three per carrier. Plus the group that was _already _chasing us."

Bit gritted his teeth. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm not ready to take on six-to-one odds, even if they probably are weaker."

~ Then our decision has been made for us, ~ Jamie said unhappily. ~ Into the water we go. ~

"Right," the Doc confirmed. "Jamie, Bit, make a run for the Hovercargo. We'll start moving as soon as you're-"

A volley of energy blasts cut off the Doc's words, shaking the carrier. Leena, unsure of her spot in Jamie's usual seat, took a second to check for damage. "Uh, it looks like six of the big guys behind us just fired. No damage, though. The other six look like they still aren't fully charged."

"We'll be in trouble if all twelve open up with their gattling weapons," Brad warned. "I don't really want to see if the Hovercargo can take all that fire, then survive underwater."

~ Start rolling! ~ Bit yelled. ~ Jamie and I can hold them off for a few minutes, then get aboard! ~

"That's too risky!" Toros yelled back. "You'd only have a minute before we got into the water, then another thirty seconds before we'd be too deep for you to board!"

~ We can do it. Trust us! ~ Bit urged.

~ Sure, ~ Jamie said, sounding slightly less certain. ~ We can do this. ~

The Doc hesitated for a minute, uncertain. Brad cut his dithering short, however. "Doc! We only have a few seconds before they start shooting again!"

"All right, all right!" Toros yelled angrily. "Leena, get us moving. Brad, use the gun controls from here. Give Bit and Jamie whatever cover fire you can!"

"On it, Doc," Brad said instantly.

Leena hesitated. "Dad…"

_The other two have made their choice, _Goldy hissed. _We must move if there is to be any hope of survival._

Leena sighed, then nodded resolutely. "Okay. Hovercargo moving out now."

"I'm sealing down all openings, except the aft door and magnetic launcher," Toros said. "Those I'll wait to the last possible second."

~ I hear ya, Doc, ~ Bit said, his voice tinged with exhilaration. ~ Engaging the enemy now! ~ The Jager's boosters flared to life, the zoid itself roaring, issuing a challenge to the enemies before it. Seconds later, the Raynos soared overhead, its engines screaming as Jamie pushed them to Mach 2. Brad did his best to give them support, firing the Hovercargo's top guns in a wide spread.

Bit struck first, shearing one of the legs off the closest unit. The machine had no chance of staying in fighting condition, collapsing into a heap. It wasn't out of the fight, however. It managed to twist its upper torso around, firing its gattling gun.

_This enemy is more stubborn than the normal foes! _The Liger roared. _It still functions!_

"No kidding!" Bit yelled. "Jamie! Finish him off while I take on the others!"

~ Got him! ~ Jamie acknowledged. The Raynos' weapon spat energy, tearing apart the still struggling unit. ~ I hope these things are automated… ~

"They are," Bit confirmed. "Those head things are full of equipment- it looks like there's no actual cockpit." He spun around as another unit ripped of several gattling rounds, answering the fire with a few rounds from his shock cannon. The blasts tore the gattling arm off the attacker's body. Undaunted, it took aim with its laser weapon. Bit darted out of the way, and Brad gunned the unit down with one of the Hovercargo's guns.

~ That's enough! ~ the Doc warned. ~ Get aboard, we've reached the water! ~

Bit glanced at the shore. The Hovercargo had indeed crossed into the ocean, and was slowly getting deeper. At best, he had about twenty seconds to board. "I hear you, Doc. I'll be there in just a second!"

He wheeled around, only to find three units blocking him. He gritted his teeth. "We've got to make this fast, Liger. We don't have long."

__

Agreed. One strike down the middle should open a clear path to the carrier.

"Let's do this fast," Bit said tightly. "Activating boosters." Bit switched on the engines, but didn't move yet. He allowed the engines to build up their energy, waiting until they had reached maximum output before he released lockdown. The pent up thrust exploded all at once, hurling Bit into the air, and throwing the Jager to its full speed instantly. The Jager's claws began to glow, and as he descended, cleaved the head off the middle unit, and Bit had a clear shot straight to the Hovercargo.

Until one of two remaining units grabbed the Liger and wrenched it out of the air.

Bit had a split second stare in astonishment at the claw that had emerged out of the machine's chest, grabbing the Jager by its tail and dropping its momentum enough to bring the blue zoid down. Bit's teeth clenched painfully as he slammed into the ground. He shot a glance at the water. The Hovercargo was almost too far away, he didn't have enough time to get free and make it there-

Out of sky, blue-green energy tore the enemy unit to pieces, sending shrapnel sparking into the desert sand. Bit looked up and saw the Raynos, swooping in low. 

~ Bit! Get moving! ~

"Did I ever tell you that zoid of yours looks like an angel sometimes?" Bit yelled up, grinning. 

~ Tell me later! You've only got a few more seconds to board! ~ 

~ Bit! Move! ~ the Doc ordered. ~ You still have a chance! ~

"I suddenly doubt that's an option," Bit said, his gut sinking. "Not with eight of those things left standing and ready to fight."

Jamie shot a quick glance at the shore. There _were_ still eight functioning units, as Bit had said. Additionally, the four carriers were still circling, and Jamie could suddenly very clearly see the weapons on all of them. To make matters even worse, the twelve smaller units were visible from his altitude- and they were closing fast. Jamie tried to run through the options available, but there were none. If Bit tried to run for the Hovercargo, his back would be completely unprotected. Even if the enemies here were much weaker, eight of them attacking with all their weapons at once would be enough to damage the Jager, maybe permanently. The Hovercargo couldn't return to the shore, or it would also risk heavy damage. And despite Bit's recently improved skills, he wasn't good enough to take out eight units in the handful of seconds remaining. 

Bit could not board the Hovercargo. He was going to be left behind.

~ We can't just leave you! ~ Leena yelled.

~ You have to! ~ Bit yelled back. ~ Brad, just keep giving me cover fire as long as you possibly can! ~

~ You got it, partner. ~ Brad didn't bother telling his friend to get moving- he alone had accepted Bit wouldn't be joining them. Instead, he simply increased his weapon's firing rate.

Jamie could see the Jager's engines heating up again. Bit's voice crackled over the comms. ~ I'll try to find another way across the ocean, and see if I can't pick you up on the other side. ~

~ All right, ~ the Doc said, his voice tight. ~ Good luck, son. ~

The Jager's head turned towards the Raynos. ~ Just because I can't get aboard doesn't mean you can't, Jamie. Go! You can still get in through the launcher! ~

Jamie looked at the rapidly receding carrier. Bit was correct- he still had a few seconds before he was left behind, as well. This was his only chance not be stuck alone on an alien world, with no protection but his Zoid.

Just like his friend was about to be.

Jamie pulled the control sticks, turning away from the water. "No way. I'm not abandoning you alone out here, Bit." His weapon spat, blasting off the arms of another unit.

~ Jamie! ~ Leena yelled. ~ Come on! We can't leave you both! ~

"You've got to," Jamie said, his throat clenching. "Don't worry, we can catch up. We _do _have the fastest Zoids on the planet, after all."

Leena yelled again, but her voice was obscured by static. Bit shot a quick glance at the water, just in time to see the ocean waters close over the top of the Hovercargo. Radio communications were impossible now, and he and Jamie had both been left behind. 

Bit gritted his teeth. "You should have gone with them, Jamie."

~ I'm not about to leave you to fight this battle alone. You'll need help, you know it. ~ Jamie's voice held only the faint trace of fear, but it was enough for Bit to pick up on.

Yet Jamie had ignored it. He had chosen to face possible death rather than take the easy way out. "Thanks, partner." He exhaled, trying to stay calm himself. "Let's work together on this. You take out those carriers, or at least their guns. I'll deal with the ground units, and then we haul our butts out of here before reinforcements arrive."

~ Count on it, Bit. ~ Jamie wheeled the Raynos higher, aiming for the unusual aerial carriers. 

Bit grinned ferally. The eight units had formed a semi-circle around him, and were trying to drive him back to the water. "Enough playing around. Ready, Liger?"

__

Always, old friend.

"**_STRIKE LASER CLAW!!!!"_**


	3. The Hovercargo's escape and Underwater b...

"We have to go back, Dad!"

Toros looked sadly at his daughter, shaking his head. "We can't, Leena."

"We can too! All we have to do is turn the Hovercargo around!" She looked frantically at the control board. "Which controls do that?!"

"I've got them," Brad said. "And I say we're not turning around." His voice sounded as controlled as it always did, and for some reason, that seemed to bring Leena to fierce rage.

"You turn this ship around _right now!!!_" Leena roared. She advanced menacingly, fists ready.

"I told you no!" Brad retorted. "And there's no way you can make me-" he spun in his chair, and his words suddenly died in his throat.

Goldy was less than an inch from his face- which gave him a _very_ good look at every single one of her razor sharp teeth, and her jaws that dripped slightly with saliva. _If Leena wants to go back, we go back. It's that simple._

Leena couldn't help but look smug. "Changed your mind yet?"

Brad gulped and looked at the Doc. "Sorry, Doc, but if it's your order or my throat, I'm turning this crate around."

Toros gave the Organoid a glare with no real force. He was worried about Bit and Jamie as much as the others. "All right, then. Turn us around."

Goldy backed off, and Brad reached for the controls. "We should be back ashore in five minu-"

For the second time in a brief period, Brad was cut off- this time, by a muffled sound, rather than a determined organoid.

Leena frowned. "What was that?"

"I think it came from the shore," Toros said. Frowning, he tapped a few controls. "I'm raising an underwater camera. It'll let us see what happened up there."

It took a few seconds for the camera to transmit an image to the Hovercargo screens, then a few more seconds to clear out the overwhelming amount of static. Ultimately, however, they did get a clear image.

And they all wished they hadn't.

Brad tried to speak, finding his mouth very dry. "That's it, then. We don't have any reason to go back now."

The entire beach, as far in every direction the camera could see, was engulfed in a massive spread of fire. Whatever fuel the strange units used, it burned very strongly. 

The Doc stared in horrified amazement. "I wonder what caused that…"

"Does it matter?" Brad asked grimly. "The results are the same."

"We should still go back," Leena said hollowly. "They might still be alive… Jamie, at least."

"Look at that," Brad said fiercely, gesturing to the screen. "There's nothing but fire for miles. Those two hit something they shouldn't have, and that's the result."

"We… we can't know that for sure," Leena insisted. She looked at her father. "Right, Dad?"

He sighed, shoulders down in defeat. "I'm sorry, Leena. Brad's right. Even if they survived the explosion, the heat would have been too intense for their Zoids. There's no way either of them made it out of there."

Leena glared fiercely, wiping at eyes that were threatening to start leaking any second. "We should still go back… find their… their…" She trailed off; she just couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, admit the truth to herself.

Brad still knew what she meant. "No good. That fire's going to be burning for hours. By the time it's burned down enough for us to go ashore, there's going to be more of those things crawling all over the place."

"You don't know that!"

_Your friends just took down at least twelve units, and maybe four carriers, _Goldy pointed out. _Do you really think that will go uninvestigated for very long?_

Dejected, Leena slumped to the floor. The Doc looked at Brad. "Get us moving," he said quietly. "Head due south, as direct a route as possible." 

"Sure, Doc."

Goldy gently nudged Leena's shoulder with her snout. _Leena? _

Leena glared fiercely at the Organoid. "Bit was right. We never should have let you come out of my Gunsniper." She wheeled on her father. "And _you _should never have left them behind!" She turned once more, focusing Brad with her rage-filled eyes. "And the least _you_ could do is show some compassion!" Without waiting for an answer from anyone, she ran out of the bridge, sobbing in a blind fury.

"Let her go," the Doc said as Brad started to get out of his seat. "Let her mourn first. We'll all have to, sooner or later. Right now, though, we have to make sure we _survive_ long enough to remember Bit and Jamie." He eyed the screens nervously, seeing little more than the rapidly darkening water. "This is really the first time the Hovercargo has been underwater."

"Great," Brad muttered. He started checking his equipment, the Doc having already started. 

Neither noticed the crushed look on Goldy's saurian face as she stared at the door Leena had rushed out of.

* * *

"Sir? I have some information for you."

Senior Lieutenant Mythraun of the Eastern Military Force, currently in charge of the quietest listening post of the entire planet, turned to face his junior officer. _Now what does this fool have to say for me?_ "Yes?" He asked, putting the barest touch of annoyance he actual felt into his tone. "What is this critical information?"

"You remember the Mediozak units you ordered sent out an hour ago? Chasing after that strange weapon that destroyed automated unit 0054?"

"Of course I remember," Mythraun snarled. "What about them?"

"They encountered… heavy resistance from the target, sir."

Mythraun felt his blood turn cold. "How heavy?" If those units had been lost…

"All destroyed, sir. The carriers as well, _and _most of the members of automated unit 0053 that were in pursuit."

Only once before in his entire life had Lieutenant Mythraun had the feeling that he was instantly plummeting to the deepest depths of hell. Now, he was feeling it again- and he was falling faster. "You're certain?" He asked, barely able to keep his voice steady. "All of them?"

"Yes, sir. They went down at approximately the same time, so I believe all but four were destroyed due to a massive explosion on the coast of the sea."

Mythraun stood jerkily, his mind running slowly. "What of the unit we sent them after?"

"Unable to tell, sir. None of the Mediozak's records indicate if it escaped or was destroyed."

He nodded slowly, running over his choices. An enemy of unknown origin and clearly massive power had destroyed a force of twelve well armed, standard fighting craft. If he went after it in his own, non-automated Mediozak, he would most likely die as well. That left only one choice- and it was barely acceptable. Unfortunately, it was his only chance. "The Western fighter craft we captured three weeks ago, is it operational and fully repaired?"

The junior officer looked at him, puzzled. "Yes, sir. The intelligence operatives will be here tomorrow to collect it."

_At least the repair crews around here are competent, _Mythraun thought to himself. "Fine. Tell Naruedo to meet me there in five minutes. We're going out."

The junior officer stared in shock. "Sir! That unit is military property! If you take it, do you know what the Tribunal will do to you?!"

"I know," Mythraun said grimly, opening the door. "It doesn't concern me." He turned and shut the door.

_Of course,_ he thought darkly, _they can't do much worse than they already have. Not with _my _service record the way it is._

He quickly shook his thoughts away from the past; there was no time for it. He had already reached the hangar bay. It usually stored only the units he had sent out earlier, a small battalion of decent automated fighters. Currently, however, it held the only thing he'd done correctly in years: a captured enemy war machine.

And now, he had to steal it.

Despite the extreme risks he was now taking, Mythraun couldn't help but let his expression ease a little as he approached the enemy unit. Standing beside it was his one best friend, the only one who had always and would forever stand at his side. Naruedo always made him feel at least a little better simply with his presence. _So, what gross military violations are we committing today, my friend?_

"A little good old-fashioned theft, Naru," Mythraun said, using his nickname for his old partner. "We're taking this unit, illegally, and hoping to whatever deity is listening that a certain unknown enemy wasn't destroyed."

Naru's tail lashed. _I know you like getting into trouble, Myth,_ he said, also using a nickname, _but haven't you had enough yet?_

"If this works, we'll be beyond reproach for the rest of our carriers," Myth assured him. "No matter how badly we screw up, in the past or from now on."

_Fine,_ Naru said with his version of a shrug. _Ready to leave?_

"That's why I called you here," Myth said. "Merge with this thing and let's get moving."

Naru growled a quick assent. Then, the silver organoid leapt into the air, propelling himself with jets. A second later, he was nothing more than a bolt of energy. He arced downwards and slammed into the machine. Instantly, the device shuddered and emitted a brilliant light as Naru merged with its components. A brief moment later, and Myth could hear his voice again. _Ready. All security lockouts are removed, and control is switched to cockpit command. There should be no problem controlling this machine. It doesn't even have A.I._

"Good," Myth said, climbing into the cockpit. "Whatever destroyed the Mediozaks is very powerful. For once, we have to hope the Westerners did their job and made this thing as powerful and instantly adaptable as rumors claim."

_With us working together, it _will _be._

Myth eased the four-legged machine out of the hangar. As he started it running towards the coordinates of the explosion, he also hoped very, very much that whatever had destroyed the Mediozaks was still alive, somewhere.

* * *

Leena stormed through the narrow halls of the Hovercargo, blinded by rage and tears. Two of her friends and teammates gone, simply wiped out in a massive ball of fire. To make matters worse, both her father and last member of the Blitz Team showed no remorse, at least not to her.

But the worst sting was that it was all her fault.

That one though played through her mind more often and loudly than any other. If she had just listened to Bit, sacrificed her Gunsniper when Goldy first merged with it, both he and Jamie would still be alive. They would be on Zi, happily preparing for their next match. She and Bit would be arguing companionably, while Jamie fretted over no one listening to his strategies. 

Instead, they were here, on some unknown world countless miles away from their home. Even worse, they were probably being pursued by strange automated fighting craft, bent on destroying them. Their lives were in serious jeopardy, with half their team dead already.

__

"Leena?"

Brad's voice echoed down the corridor behind her, but Leena didn't bother turning around. "Go away."

She heard his footsteps pick up as he tried to get closer. "I can't let you stay this way. You can't do this."

__

"Do what?!" Leena demanded angrily, whirling to face him. "Mourn for my friends? Be angry that I wasn't out fighting beside them?"

"Blame everyone, including yourself, for their deaths," Brad corrected. "Jamie and Bit didn't die because of you, and you know it."

Leena turned away again, eyes clenched shut. "They did. There must have at least a dozen things I could have done differently at any time before we abandoned them on the beach."

"Probably," Brad said flatly. "But you didn't. None of us did, because we never expected anything like this."

"And now they're gone," Leena said furiously, wiping her eyes and trying to keep her voice steady. "They're gone, and we'll never get them back."

"It's something we have to live with," Brad said, his own voice still calm. "It's something we can't change, and dwelling on it will only make things worse."

"Make it worse?!" Leena roared, not believing her ears. She spun around again, not bothering to wipe her eyes this time. "Our friends just _died! _Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"

"You think I don't have feelings?!" Brad shot back. "You think what just happened doesn't tear me up as much as you?! Well, it does!"

"_Then show it!_" Leena yelled.

"There's no time!" Brad yelled back. "In case you hadn't noticed, we in are in a bad position!" 

Leena didn't respond; she had the feeling she'd reached her limit where she could talk without breaking down. 

Brad sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. "Look," he said more gently, "Bit and Jamie both meant a lot to me. They were my fellow warriors, and they were my friends. I hate that they died, with all my heart and soul. But right now, _there's no time to mourn_. We have got to get somewhere safe. Then, and only then, can we let ourselves say good-bye to them."

Awkwardly, he took his hand away, running his other through his hair. "Um… anyway, you have to come to the bridge. Goldy's trying to tell us something, but the Doc and I can't understand her. We really need you up there." Slowly, he turned and walked out the near door.

"Wait."

Brad turned. Leena was looking at the floor, fists clenched. "I'm sorry."

He waved a hand. "It's ok."

"No, it's not. I know I said some horrible things to everyone. I just… can't accept they're dead." She looked at him, eyes red. "I miss them already. What do we do without them?"

"What they'd want us to do," Brad said, trying not to feel uneasy. "We keep going. We get to Goldy's home, and then we have her send us back. We get back to Zi."

Leena nodded. Inwardly, Brad let out a sigh of relief. Dealing with this wasn't really his style. He was just glad he'd said the right thing. 

Abruptly, the Doc's voice came on. ~Brad, I really need Leena up here. Goldy's getting more and more agitated. Have you found her yet?~

"I'm here, Dad," Leena said, wiping her eyes. "I'll be up in a second." Without waiting for a reply, she ran for the bridge, Brad close behind.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw what her father meant about Goldy being upset. She was perched on Jamie's console, hissing and snarling at the main screen. The Doc was looking very nervously at her, pushed as far back in his chair as possible. He looked with relief when Leena walked in. "Glad to see you. What is she ranting about?"

"Uh…" Leena focused on the organoid, and her voice quickly cleared up. _- behind us!_

"What did she say?" the Doc asked urgently.

"I don't know, I only caught the end of it," Leena said. "Goldy, what did you say?"

_I said that we have enemies coming up behind us! I've been saying it for the past five minutes!_

"We've got company!" Leena yelled, leaping to her station. "Goldy says there's someone behind us!"

"Underwater craft?!" Brad yelled back, running to the center console. "Where did they come from?!"

_The Northern forces have good water craft_, Goldy hissed, hopping down from the console. _Most likely, they saw this vehicle's tracks, and dispatched a ship after us._

"So where did these Northern guys come from?!" Leena demanded, trying to find them on her scanners.

"Might have watched Bit and Jamie's battle with those other units," the Doc said, sounding thoughtful. "If what I think is going on is what I suspect, they'd take an interest in anyone that could do what they did."

Brad looked at him, slightly confused. "When we find out what's going on, can you explain what you're thinking?"

"Happy to," Toros said, suddenly hitting his keys. "But right now, I think _this_ is our priority." He 

re-adjusted the viewscreen to directly behind the Hovercargo, putting a strange looking submarine-style vehicle up. It was a long cylinder, with a triangular shaped bow. Black and blue stripes ran up and down its hull, and there were several round holes that looked uncomfortably like weapon ports.

It was also easily three times the length of the Hovercargo, and closing on them very quickly. 

Brad gulped. "There's another thing on this planet I don't like after all."

"I don't like anything about this planet," Leena growled. "Murderous robots, huge submarines-"

"And the sky is all wrong," the Doc lamented.

_Discuss my world's faults later! That ship is closing quickly! It will close to firing range in minutes! _ Goldy hissed.

"She says we're running out of time," Leena translated. "What do we do?"

"Find a way out," Brad said as calmly as he could. "Preferably one that doesn't result in more of our deaths."

Toros' expression flickered for just a second, then he refocused. "Right. Leena, can you get any more speed out of the engines?"

"I'm already pushing the engines to full, and that ship is still gaining!" she said desperately. "Do we have any guns that would work underwater?"

"We've got a few torpedoes," the Doc replied, keeping a close eye on the distance between the two ships. "Unfortunately, none of them are loaded into their bays. I wasn't expecting to ever take this thing underwater, and certainly not into a submarine battle!"

"I can load the torpedoes," Brad said, standing. "Where are the launchers?"

"The best ones to use are in the loading bay, near the back door," Toros answered, thinking quickly. "The torpedoes will have to be loaded manually."

"Let me help!" Leena said, standing quickly. "With two of working, it'll go a lot faster."

"I have something else in mind for you," Brad said, a shrewd expression on his face. He motioned to Goldy. "Do you think she could merge with this ship?"

"What?!"  
_WHAT?!_

Brad flinched slightly at Goldy's roar; even without words, it was clear she didn't like it. "Think about it! Our engines are maxed out now, and they're still closing, right? If Goldy merged with our ship, she could give it the same kind of boost she gave your zoid! We might have enough speed to escape!"

"We should try it if she can," Toros warned. "That ship is getting a lot closer, and I think I'm detecting weapons activation."

"I'm going now," Brad said. He glanced quickly at Leena, then hurried out.

Leena turned to Goldy. "Can you do it? Can you merge with the Hovercargo?"

The organoid looked doubtful. _Possibly. I'd need to get to whatever powers the engines on the ship, though. And with something this size, I can only influence one area for a limited time._

"It'll have to do," Leena said. "Dad, I need you to open the engine's power supply. Goldy needs access to it if she's going to have any chance of increasing our speed."

"I'll open it when you're down there," Toros promised. "Just be careful. It's pretty hot down there, and I'm not just talking about temperature."

Goldy snorted contemptuously. _If you're referring to radiation, that's no concern to me. I can withstand any levels._

"She says it's fine," Leena reported hurriedly. "Just open the doors to the power supply."

"Doing it now," Toros said, hitting his keyboard. "It's several decks down, near the zoid hold."

_On my way._ Goldy leapt up and over the Doc's console to the bridge door, racing out as fast as she could. 

Leena gritted her teeth. "Can I do anything?"

"Get to one of the topside guns," Toros ordered. "That's fire control for the torpedoes when we're underwater. I'll give you the order to fire when it's time."

She nodded and scrambled out of the bridge, running top speed to the closest turret. It took her two very tense minutes to get there, and when she arrived the sub chasing them had closed to five hundred meters. Nervously, she hit the comms. "Uh, Dad? That ship is still closing."

~I know, Leena!~

"Hasn't Goldy reached the core yet?"

~Yes, but it's taking time to integrate her! She's never merged with anything this size!~

Leena started to say something else, stopped dead as the sub behind them suddenly released two objects- very _fast_ objects. "DAD! THEY FIRED!"

~_Hang on!~_ The Hovercargo suddenly tilted hard to the right, and the torpedoes raced past them, vanishing into the dark water ahead of them. Seconds later, they detonated harmlessly on something in the distance.

Leena released a shaky sigh of relief. "That was close."

~Too close,~ her father agreed. ~Much, much, too close. Fortunately, they don't look like they're going to fire again just yet.~

"What about our torpedoes?" she asked anxiously.

~Just loaded them!~ Brad interrupted. ~One torpedo each loaded in tubes one and two! Give me five seconds to get out of here, then fire at will!~

~No, don't!~ the Doc barked. Leena yanked her hands back from the controls. ~We're too close! We need the speed boost Goldy is going to give us!~

Leena gulped. "Dad… what if it isn't enough?"

There was no answer for several seconds. Finally, the Doc said, ~Just fire when I give the order. Stand by.~

Uneasily, she took the controls again, fully aware he hadn't answered her question at all. _Come on, Goldy,_ she pleaded silently. _Hurry!_

_I have merged, Leena! Full speed now!_

Leena blinked in surprise. Had the organoid heard her?

There was no time to wonder, however. Pushing aside her preoccupation, she hit the comms again. "Dad! She's in! Go, full speed!"

~Acknowledged, Leena,~ the Doc said, voice strained. ~Fire the torpedoes now!~

She didn't waste a second; aiming wasn't her strongest point, but the ship chasing them was so big, it didn't matter. She locked on quickly and pulled the trigger twice, sending the torpedoes running for the sub. "Weapons away!"

~Going to full speed on the engines _NOW!~_

The Hovercargo surged like it had been kicked in the side, its speed doubling instantly. The enemy crew must have been surprised, because they didn't increase their own speed for several seconds, allowing the carrier to move to one thousand meters from them. 

And by the time they recovered from their shock, the two torpedoes Leena fired were inches from their hull.

The first weapon exploded on the foremost point of the ship, the triangular prow. The second streaked in half a second later, detonating on the underside of their hull. The ship rocked, obscured in a cloud of bubbles and smoke.

"Yeah!" Leena cheered. "We got 'em!"

~I'm more worried we got ourselves,~ Brad said grimly. ~Shockwave, closing a lot faster than we can run!~

Leena looked in horror at the water, seeing air bubbles rushing towards them in a faint shape of the destructive power closing on them, far faster than the Hovercargo could ever try to move. Her last thought before it hit them was to hope Bit and Jamie somehow survived.

* * *

Author's Note: _I know, I know, I'm an evil person. Don't worry, not everyone is dead. The next chapter should be up in a four days, barring any more FFN crashes. I also want to thank my reviewers. Without you, it just wouldn't be worth writing. If you'd like to talk to me more quickly, I'm usually on AIM as Guardian537Scott. I'd love to hear any of your thoughts. Anyway, I hope you'll all come back for the next chapter!_

CGAdamW4


	4. The settlement at the water's edge

The strange blue sun of Goldy's world beat down on the wreckage of dozen of shattered craft, still burning off their fuel. The blaze would be visible for miles around when it got dark, if anyone was around to see it. 

With the planet seemingly deserted, however, only Bit and Jamie would be seeing the fire.

Jamie wheeled the Raynos around, looking back at the fire from a mile up. "I don't see anything even twitching down there, Bit. Nothing's moving in that fire, that's for sure. And I don't see anyone coming to investigate. I think we're in the clear."

~Let's hope so,~ Bit said dubiously. A mile below Jamie, the Jager was running full out, engines at maximum power. ~Running in the surf is covering my tracks, but there's still a risk of being traced. Add that to the fact that for some reason our sensors barely work, and I'm worried. I don't want to deal with any other enemies until we at least get to the edge of this ocean.~

"That might be tricky," Jamie warned. "I still don't see an end to this coastline. This is a _huge_ body of water."

~Why do you think I said what I did?~

Jamie rolled his eyes. "I stayed off the Hovercargo to hear you make impossible wishes?" 

~Hey, at least you didn't get a plane dropped on you, ~ Bit countered. ~If the Liger hadn't seen that coming, I'd be a piece of charcoal. And _you'd_ be flying up there all alone, wishing I wasn't dead.~

"I _said_ I was sorry," Jamie cringed. "I didn't expect that things engines to be so flimsy. A Whale King could have handled my fire easily."

~Those weren't Whale Kings, remember? They were very large, very annoying planes that kept dropping enemies on our heads.~ Bit sighed. ~But you did a good job bringing them down. How many guns did those things have?~

"It was all show," Jamie said easily. "Those things were oversized pea shooters with bad aim, at least to me. Simple enough to handle."

~Even without the Wild Eagle, right?~

Jamie shrugged. "If they hadn't been, you'd be listening to me laugh endlessly about my fearless piloting skills, wouldn't you?"

~Yeah. And on this rock, all alone, that could get annoying. Leena would have to hit upside the head to get you back to normal.~ 

Jamie grit his teeth. "I hope they're all right, Bit."

Bit sighed. "Me too, Jamie. But for now, all there is to do is try and get around this ocean and meet them on the other side." Jamie didn't reply, but flew a little higher.

_This will be very difficult._

Bit nodded morosely. "It's like Jamie said, this is a big ocean. Even at top speed, I don't know how long it'll take to get around it."

_At least there is no murderous organoid giving chase this time._

He laughed. "You've got a point there, Liger. Just little shrimps with popguns." His expression darkened. "Is there any chance you can still sense Goldy?"

_No. But there are other organoids in the region, closer than before.. _

Bit looked around, alarmed. "What?! Where?! Are they coming here?!"

_Again, no. None seem to have taken any interest since parting ways with the carrier. But it is a large group together, several hours' travel away. It is also doubtful these creatures bear the same hostility as the gold one._

"What makes you say that?" Bit asked, confused.

_The gold one had a very specific… distaste about permanently merged organoids. The ones nearby do not. These either do not have as good senses as the gold one, or simply do not share its hatred._

Bit frowned. This was interesting. He'd simply assumed that all organoids would share Goldy's feelings about an Ultimate X, and subsequently, him. But if he really thought about it, that couldn't be true, or the Liger Zero never would have existed. 

He played this through his mind for a few minutes. Then, he asked, "Liger? What direction are they in?"

_Ahead several hundred miles and bearing slightly to the left. Why?_

Bit shrugged. "We came to see organoids, right? Let's go meet them. They might even know a faster way across the ocean."

_Worth a try._

Bit tapped his comms. "Hey, Jamie?"

~Yeah?~

"Judging by the position of the sun, I think it's going to be dark in a few hours." Bit said. "We're going to need someplace to stop for the night- and I'm guessing you're realizing just how small a zoid cockpit is."

~You've got that right,~ Jamie admitted. ~These things weren't really designed with long range travel in mind.~

Bit laughed slightly. "I found that out a while ago. Anyway, my point is simply like I said, we're going to need somewhere to stop for the night." He grinned. "And with any luck, Liger can lead us right to the very place…"

* * *

Myth looked at the burning wreckage of over a dozen fighter units, seeing what was left of his career going up in smoke with them. There was no sign of the unknown unit, destroyed or intact, and without that, he had no chance at all of ever redeeming himself. 

Almost out of hope, he looked at Naru. "Any chance you sense something? An organoid, perhaps?"

Naru turned his head, looking somehow frustrated. He'd looked like that ever since he'd emerged from the western craft, upon arriving at the debris field. _I can sense… something. It's like an organoid, but not quite._

"An organoid that isn't an organoid?" Myth asked, puzzled. "How can that be?"

_I don't know. I just know that I _do_ sense something, but it's something new. It's very hard to get a reading on, as well._

"There's no other leads to follow," Myth growled. "No tracks, no leaking fuel, not even a settling sand cloud. Your vague sense of something is our last chance." He started walking back to the western unit.

Naru turned and followed. _And if we don't find anything? If it's not enough?_

Myth shrugged. "We hope the westerners will look kindly on us defecting to them in one of their captured units. We fail, and we're done in the Eastern Army."

_Delightful._ Naru sighed. _Well, at least they welcome organoid fighting teams in the west. We might have a chance if this doesn't work after all._

"Although I'd prefer it work."

_Agreed._

* * *

The sun had set half an hour ago, and the six moons were now giving off their own light, shining down on the ocean and sand.

Not to mention the Jager, crouching just on top of a sand dune. A little further along, a collection of tents and camp fires were visible in the dim light.

Bit looked critically at the fires burning a few hundred meters away, just within scanner range across the sand dunes. "Is that the organoid encampment you sensed?"

_Yes._

"Why do organoids need fires? Judging from Goldy, they can handle a wide temperature range without any difficulty," Bit wondered.

~The fires aren't for the organoids,~ Jamie reported from above, ~although there are plenty of those. But about two thirds of that camp is humans. It's a lot bigger than it looks from down there.~

"Humans?" Bit asked, startled. "Are you sure?"

~At the very least, they look like us from this altitude. At a mile up, though, my cameras aren't flawless. They might have pointed ears and yellow eyes, I dunno.~

Bit shrugged. "We've come this far, why stop now?"

~Okay. You go in first, and I'll touch down right behind you.~

_That is inadvisable._

"Why's that?" Bit asked, frowning.

_These organoids are wary. Charging in with two large war machines may provoke a defensive strike from whatever weapons are available._

"Good point," he conceded. "Jamie, I think we'd better park out here and walk the rest of the way in. Liger can warn us of any danger that might show up."

~Sounds okay. Better to play it safe?~

"That's what Liger's thinking," Bit admitted. "I'm parking here. You put yours a little closer in to the camp, but stay behind the dunes."

~No problem.~

Bit put the Jager into a parking crouch while Jamie slowly brought the Raynos down. When he hopped out of his cockpit, he took a few seconds to stretch out and give a big sigh of relief. "Nice to be out there for now."

Bit grinned, still digging in his cockpit for something. "It can definitely get cramped, that's for sure. But at least we're not plodding along out here in something like a Cannon Tortoise."

"True. High speed zoids are very useful in a situation like this." He eyed the two units critically. "Of course, in daylight, the Jager's blue and my Raynos' green are going to be extremely visible in the air."

"A risk we'll have to take," Bit agreed. "Besides, we've already seen we can trash anything that comes after us. There's probably nothing to worry about." He tossed Jamie a pack. 

Jamie caught and shouldered it. "What's in here?"

"Remember how I was running from Goldy for a month?"

"You've never let us forget."

Bit ignored the sarcasm. "That's half of what's left of the food I picked up back then." He shouldered a second pack. "This the other half. It doesn't taste great, but it's still edible. If we can't get any food up there, we can use these."

Jamie grimaced. "Let's hope we can get some food."

Bit sealed the cockpit and jumped down. "Let's get going." He looked back at the zoid. "Hold down the fort, okay Liger?"

_Such as it is, yes._

It was a short walk to the encampment, even up and down the sand dunes. In about fifteen minutes, they were passing the tents set up on the outskirts of the settlement. There didn't seem to be many people around, but they could hear voices further in. 

Bit let out a tense breath. "I guess this is it." He hitched his pack a little tighter, and they walked towards the voices.

They noticed three major things as they entered the settlement. The first was that the camp was that it was much more permanent than it appeared on the outside. Metal structures reinforced feeble shacks, and there were several large, communal tents erected.

The second thing, which was much more remarkable, more than the size or condition of the place, was the number of inhabitants. There were at least a thousand people, all milling around in some kind of marketplace. Small carts offered food or items, as vendors shouted they had the lowest prices. Children darted around, laughing and playing in the torchlight. 

The final and most stunning thing was that everywhere, assisting the merchants, accompanying the people, or watching the children, were organoids. 

There were silver ones with spines running down their backs, blue ones with forward raking horns, greens with abnormally large fangs, and at least half a dozen other variations on the saurian creatures. It seemed there was no end to the color or shapes these beasts came in. They walked freely among the humans, no restraints or leashes to be seen, and in turn, the humans showed no unusual reaction at all to them. In fact, Bit was certain he saw at least one person pay an organoid for an item from a stand.

Jamie nudged him in the ribs. "I think if we stand here any longer with our mouths open, we're going to start drawing attention."

"Right." Bit did his best to pull himself together and appear calm. After all, the only living organoid he'd ever met had tried to kill him repeatedly. "Let's go shopping, then."

Jamie stared in, Bit at his side. They were passing one of the carts when Jamie asked, "What exactly is it we're shopping for, anyway?"

Bit had to think for a second before he realized the answer to that. Keeping a wary eye on the organoids surrounding him, he said, "I don't know about you, but I don't have any water. We should see if we can find some of that."

"You want water?" A voice said cheerfully. "You'll find none fresher than mine!"

They turned to find a cart vendor leaning towards them eagerly. Large tanks, presumably full of water, filled the space behind him. Smaller, personal sized metal bottles were laid in front. The water seller himself was wearing a light shirt and pants, with a thin patch of white hair. A strange, horizontal red stripe ran across his forehead. He was also looking at them expectantly.

"Yes, actually," Jamie said, walking over. "How much?"

"Depends how much you want to buy," the seller said cheerfully. "We start at thirty dorts for the personal bottles, and go up from there."

Bit and Jamie gave each other uncomfortable glances. The Blitz Team's finances were secure back home, but here… "We don't have much currency," Bit admitted uneasily.

The seller shrugged. "Then you can't buy much water, can you?"

"Maybe we can trade," Jamie suggested. "We probably have something you'd like."

"Well…" the seller ran an eye over them. "I've never seen clothes like that before. You two just get here?"

They exchanged glances. "You might say that," Bit said guardedly. "Now, what would you accept for say…" he paused and looked at Jamie. "Your tanks can hold six gallons, right?"

"Yep."

"Mine too." He looked back at the merchant. "How much for twelve gallons of water?"

"That much?!" The seller looked startled. "That much water is very expensive. No less than five hundred dorts."

"Like I said we don't have much money," Bit explained. "What would you take instead?"

"I don't see you carrying anything that would be worth that much," the water seller snorted. He was clearly starting to get annoyed. 

Jamie nodded. "Okay. We'll come back later if we can turn something up."

"Fine," the seller said, clearly not caring. 

"I just have one question real quick," Bit suddenly asked. "You didn't happen to see a gold organoid come by here recently, did you?"

The vendor looked up sharply. "A gold organoid?"

"Yes. She was traveling with a few friends of mine, and I was just wondering if they might have passed by here." He looked at Jamie's puzzled face with a shrug. "It's a long shot, but maybe Doc and the other came ashore here."

The water seller was looking at them very suspiciously. "You're looking for a gold organoid?"

"Yes, I just said that," Bit said impatiently. "So? Have you?"

The water vendor ran his eyes over them again, then said, "Wait here." He walked quickly around to the back of his stand.

Bit looked at Jamie, perplexed. "What was that all about? There's organoids everywhere. Why is he so freaked out by my asking about one more?"

"Look around, Bit," Jamie said, waving his hands at the crowd. "Out of all these organoids, do you see a single gold one anywhere?"

He scanned the area for a minute, then shook his head. "No, I guess not. I just figured it was worth a try."

"And what does that suggest to you about gold-"

"Hands up! Now!"

Bit and Jamie both looked back at the cart and were shocked to see the seller pointing some kind of long rifle at them. Beside him, a green organoid stood hissing, its black eyes focused menacingly on them.

Naturally, they raised their hands.

The water vendor motioned to his organoid. "Klor- go get the security. Quickly, before they call for help." The organoid hurried away.

Jamie tried to reason with him. "Look, sir, I don't know what's wrong, but-"

"Shut up!" he snapped. "You Southies have been after us for years, but you're not going to sneak in this way!"

"I think you've got the wrong idea," Bit said, staring at the gun. "We are not after _anyone_, we just-"

"Weird outfits, no marks, no organoids- I should have seen it straight off," he growled. "I must be getting old. Well, as soon as Klor gets back, we'll just see what's going on with you two."

Bit suddenly got an idea. "It's all well and good you want to do the right thing and turn us in," he said, "but I think you forgot something."

"Oh? And what's that?" the seller asked, as Jamie stared like Bit was going crazy.

"To watch your water tanks."

The vendor turned instinctively towards his precious merchandise, taking his eyes of them. In a split second, Bit was dragging Jamie away from the water vendor as fast as he could, trying to get lost in the crowd.

"Very clever," Jamie said, pulling himself free and running alongside Bit. "The old 'made you look' ploy?"

"Easily adaptable in a tight situation," Bit said, slowing to what he hoped was an inconspicuous walk. "If fresh water is really as rare around here as it seems, it made sense he might have problems with theft." He shrugged. "Besides, taking a small risk like that beats waiting around for his organoid to bring back security or whatever he sent it for."

"You're right, it was security," a new voice said from behind them. "And thanks for walking right past me back there. It would have taken another five or ten minutes for me to get to Zoko's stand from here."

Bit and Jamie turned slowly. Six men were behind them, all armed with some kind of handgun. The one who'd spoken was the Doc's height and age, with brown hair and two red stripes across his lower chin. His uniform bore an odd looking badge on it.

"I'm guessing you're the local police?" Bit asked weakly.

"The police chief," the man corrected. "Now, will you two be coming with me willingly, or are you going to run some more?"

Before either of them could answer, an earth-shaking roar echoed across the sand, making every human and organoid stop what they were doing and turn to the desert where the Liger was parked. The security chief looked alarmed. "What in the six moons is _that?!_"

The Liger's voice suddenly ripped in Bit's mind so loudly it scared him. _An enemy is coming! Get back NOW!_

"Jamie! Back to the zoids! Hurry!" He took off, running as fast as he could. He looked back at the guard. "You've got trouble coming! Get ready for it!"

"_Now _why are we running?!" Jamie yelled. 

"Liger says we've got enemies on their way!" Bit shouted back. "We've got to be in our zoids before they get here!"

It took them less than two minutes to get back to their zoids, despite the loose, slippery sand dunes. Bit leapt into the Jager, pulling on his harness and activating his systems. "What've we got, Liger?"

_Several units from the north, land craft. _

"The same ones as before?"

_No. But these do seem to have about the same level of firepower._

"Okay, then this should be easy enough." He keyed his radio. "Jamie, you all set?"

~Ready. I'll take off just as soon as you're clear.~ His voice was tight, but focused. ~Any idea what we're up against? My scanners still can't get readings.~

"Liger says we're dealing with more land units," Bit reported, "but I still can't see them either. He says they're approaching from the north." He maneuvered the Jager up and slightly away from the Raynos.

~Understood. Lifting off!~ Jamie forced the Raynos into a jerky run, then ignited his jets and soared up. 

Bit grinned. "Not bad for your first ground take off."

~Yeah, I'm used to getting a boost from the launcher on the Hovercargo.~

The Jager started running, keeping just behind the flying zoid. "See anything yet, Jamie?"

~Not yet. No sign of any forces, ground or other-~ He broke off suddenly. ~Wait a second. Yeah, I've got something!~ He suddenly sounded puzzled. ~These have never been used on Zi. I'm getting reading that make me think they're automated, but they look like three squads of some kind of tank vehicles.~

"Tanks?" Bit asked blankly. "What are those?" 

~Armored, rolling guns!~ 

"Kind of like a Cannon Tortoise?"

~Close enough. It looks like they're approaching in three groups, all diamond formation.~ He sounded worried. ~Bit, I don't know if the Jager's armor will be enough to stand up to thirty six direct hits all at once.~

"Who said I'm going to let them all hit me?" Bit challenged. "Besides, with you attacking from above, these guys won't have a chance."

~True enough.~ Bit could hear Jamie's confidence building. ~Okay, then. I'll lead off with some aerial strikes on the first line. When they start shooting at me, you move in and trash as many as you can.~

"Got it!"

~Going in!~ Jamie wheeled the Raynos, bringing it in for a swooping dive. Before the tanks even knew he was there, his guns were raining down fire, taking out three in the first charge. 

It took a few seconds for the units to realize they were under fire from the air. By then, Jamie had nailed another two units, turning them into burning rubble. The tanks came to a halt as one, and fired their weapons at the Raynos as best they could, but with little effect. The airborne zoid easily dodged their fire, and returned it just as quickly. 

"Looks like you're doing pretty good without me," Bit said, impressed. "Sure you'll need me to step in?"

~This isn't as simple as it looks!~ Jamie yelled. ~I really could use some help!~

"You got it," Bit said easily. "Let's go, Liger." The blue zoid roared, charging forward. A quick strike laser claw tore apart two of the tanks, then Bit started using his shock cannon to destroy them. 

It was the easiest battle either of them had ever been in. The enemy units simply did not have the tracking speed or maneuverability to target either zoid. Inside ten minutes, the remaining tanks- about fifteen of them- had turned and were running as fast as they could across the desert sand.

Bit watched them go. "Think we should go after them?"

Jamie shrugged. ~Why bother? They can't hurt us, and they know it. They won't be back.~

"Yeah, that's what I figured." He sighed. "So now what?"

{Now maybe you two can explain exactly who you are,} a new voice said. Bit turned and saw an open topped, jeep-like vehicle parked several meters from him. The police chief they'd run into in the town was standing in it, speaking into some kind of radio. {Your machines, whatever they are, have more power than anything I've ever seen. I'm very interested in finding out where you came from.}

"I bet," Bit said dryly, trusting his own signal was being picked up. "Why should we come back? So you can arrest us for some reason?"

{Not anymore,} the chief said. {Those things you use can't be from around here. They're just too strong.}  


~So what do you want with us?~ Jamie asked, hovering next to the Jager.

{To find out where you came from. And I'm guessing you've got quite a few questions yourself. I mean, how could you not? You _are_ from another planet.}

Bit and Jamie stared at each other over the comm visual. "How-" Bit started, but the chief cut him off.

{Just come with me. I promise I'll explain everything I can.}

_Accept the offer_.

Bit jerked. "Liger? Are you sure?"

_Yes. This one is trustworthy. And it is a good chance to find out where this world is, and how both organoids and humans are now living on it._

"Good point," Bit agreed. "Jamie? Liger says we can trust this guy. Let's go back into town."

Jamie's reluctance was clear. ~You'd better be right, Bit.~.

Bit let out his breath, and started back for the camp. "I am. I just hope Doc and the others are okay."

~Me too.~

* * *

Myth sat in his darkened cockpit, stunned at what he'd just seen and heard. Not one, but _two_ extremely powerful units had just torn apart a large tank unit from the North, and done it inside ten minutes. And by eavesdropping on their comm transmissions, he had been able to hear everything they said to each other. 

He had to admit, he hadn't even considered they weren't from his world. After all, why would he? Aliens couldn't just show up unnoticed.

Except they had. 

Myth frowned. From what he'd just seen, he wouldn't be able to take even one machine yet. Some adjustments were going to be needed…

"Naru?"

__

Yes?

"Were you watching that battle?"

_What else would I be doing? And yes, _he added quickly, anticipating Myth's next question, _I recorded all of it._

"Run the record of it back through the unit's combat adjustment system. Have it prepare for battle, based on the combat data we've recorded."

Naru gave his affirmative, then warned, _It will take time for the system to adjust accordingly._

"I know." He leaned back in the small cockpit. "But they don't appear to be going anywhere just yet. We should have more than enough time."

_One thing, though. _

"What would that be?"

_Who do you think this 'Doc and the others' are?_

Myth shrugged. "We'll find out after we question those two pilots."

* * *

Author's Note: _You didn't really think I'd kill Bit and Jamie, did you? Anyway, thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, I really enjoy hearing your comments. Not as much action this time, as you might've noticed, but there's still plenty more to come. The next chapter should be up in about a week, barring any more collapses from FFN. I'm still available to chat on AIM as Guardian537Scott, if you feel like it. See you then!_


	5. Aftermath and Information

Leena slowly blinked back to consciousness, rubbing her head. "Ohhh… what hit me?"

_A shockwave, _Goldy said. _It slammed into the back end of the Hovercargo, slightly damaging us. _

Leena tried to run back through her memory, reviewing hazy images. An enemy ship, chasing them underwater…Goldy, merging with the engines… firing two torpedoes… a rush of water and bubbles… 

She looked at the organoid. "We made it? It worked?"

_More or less_, Goldy said wryly. _The sub did not pursue after we fired. However, it has become dangerous to travel under the water._

"Why?"

_Come to the zoid compartment. I believe you'll understand then. _

Leena followed Goldy out of the room, a sense of dread starting in her stomach. They arrived at the zoid racks a few minutes later. They looked strangely bare; with both Bit and Jamie gone, the only zoid in there was the Shadowfox, on the uppermost launcher slot. Leena's own Gunsniper was stored in the forward most part of the Hovercargo, just under the bridge.

Brad was standing on the lowest launcher pad, where the Liger always changed its armor components. He was looking around, apparently surveying the damage. 

~How's it look down there?~ the Doc's voice suddenly echoed anxiously through the carrier compartment of the Hovercargo. ~Is it bad?~

"Depends," Brad said. "Is a huge, vertical dent in the back of the Hovercargo bad?"

Toros groaned, the sound echoing strangely in the holding zone. ~Is it going to affect the rotation of the magnetic launcher?~

"I don't think so. It's a big dent, but it's most just the armor. The dent runs up and down between the sliders, but it doesn't look wide enough in here to interfere with any of the mechanical workings." He glanced down at Leena. "Your daughter is awake, by the way."

~Glad to hear it! You okay, Leena?~

"A little confused," she admitted. "For starters, what happened after we fired at the sub?"

"Shockwave," Brad answered. "It knocked us around a good bit, but there was no real harm except _that_." He waved to the back of the Hovercargo. 

The 'dent' he had been discussing with the Doc ran from the highest point of the carrier section, and ran down to just above the rear door. Leena winced as she looked at it. "That looks nasty."

"It's not as bad as it appears," Brad said. "The dent looks mainly like cosmetic damage. It's annoying, but nothing we can't repair."

~It's not totally harmless,~ Toros countered. ~According to my instruments, we can expect a serious leak to start in a few hours. It's going to start seeping in through the back door unless we get out of the water soon.~

Leena's stomach tightened. "Is that possible?"

~I don't think so. We barely entered this ocean six hours ago, and I doubt we're anywhere near the edge of it. When it got dark a few hours ago, I surfaced us to slow down the leakage, but we'll have to go down again when the sun rises.~ He sounded worried. ~I only have some small pumps to get rid of the water; it's tough to judge if they'll be enough.~

"They're called bilge pumps, Doc," Brad said, examining the rear hatch. "Bilge pumps drain water."

"I don't care what they're called!" Leena yelled. "Are we going to _sink?!_"

~No,~ Toros said firmly. ~I'll probably have to rotate the armor component racks to avoid getting saltwater in any of the Liger's armor modules still on board, but we won't sink. I built this thing better than that.~

_We'd BETTER not sink, _Goldy hissed, looking very nervous. _I can't swim. _

"If this thing goes down this far out, we're all dead," Leena said grimly. "You certainly won't be going down along, Goldy. There's no way we can swim whatever distance it is to shore."

~We're not going to sink,~ the Doc repeated, sounding faintly annoyed. ~Have some faith in my design skills.~

"Maybe we can use the shields," Brad suggested. "Maybe we can use it to cut back on water resistance, pick up some extra speed."

~Thank you, Brad,~ Toros said, sounding smug. ~See? He doesn't think we'll sink.~

"Yes, I do," Brad said. "I think if we don't go faster, we won't get out of the water soon enough."

~We WON'T SINK!!~

* * *

Two hours later, their confidence was beginning to rise. Running on the dark surface of the water kept the leak to a minimum, letting the bilge pumps keep up. For the first time since they left shore, they had time to calm down. 

The Doc decided to use it to try and confirm his suspicions. 

"Okay, Goldy," he said easily, trying to look calm. "Do you mind if I ask you a few things?" They were all in the tiny dining area of the Hovercargo, Goldy curled on a small rug. For a response, she simply yawned.

He glanced at Leena. "Well?"

Leena sighed. "Please, Goldy? We really need some answers."

The organoid sighed, but agreed. _Only because you ask it. What do you wish to know?_

"Let's start with the basics," Toros said when Leena had translated. "What were those things after us at the beach?"

Goldy considered for a minute, then growled. _I believe they were Mediozaks and Medioguks, automated land craft of the Eastern forces. _

Brad's expression grew puzzled as Leena translated. "What do you mean, land units of the eastern forces?"

_Just as it sounds. There is an empire that controls the entire eastern hemisphere of this planet, and what attacked us earlier were some of their automated fighter craft._

"An empire?" Leena asked, starting to get nervous. "Are they the ones who sent the submarine after us?"

_No. The east has a good air force, not a good sea one. The sub was most likely sent by the North._ Goldy's tone grew sneering as she said this.

Toros' raised his eyebrows; even without a translation, her contempt was obvious. "Don't like them, do you?"

_Of all the other nations, they are the worst, _Goldy snarled. _They treat we organoids as property, slaves to be bought and sold. They will even steal young from any nation, if they feel it is possible._

"Delightful bunch," Leena said, after translating.

Brad was focused on something else. "Just how many nations are on this planet of yours, Goldy?"

_Four. Each controls a directional hemisphere. _

"So that means there's four different empires, North, South, East, and West?" the Doc asked. 

_Yes._

"Which are you from?" Leena asked curiously.

Goldy picked her head up proudly. _I am from the Southern Empire, the mightiest in the world. There, organoids are given the respect they deserve, and we are never defeated in combat._

"Unless you come up against a zoid like the Liger Zero," Brad said, a little snidely, after the translation. "You chased him for a month and didn't defeat him."

Goldy's eyes narrowed, and she bared her teeth in warning. **_NEVER_** dare to say abominations like that thing are superior to us. If something like that had dared to exist in my home, it would have been instantly destroyed.

"I think that's enough for now," Leena said quickly, not translating. "We should probably get some sleep, right?"

"Couldn't hurt," Toros said, sounding suspicious. "I'll take the first shift on the bridge. Brad, you've got the second, Leena the third."

"Sure," Brad said, clearly not caring about Goldy's clearly hostile response. "See you in four hours?"

"Sounds good." The Doc walked to the bridge, and Brad headed off to his room. Goldy put her head down to try and rest.

Leena rose and stretched. "I'd better get some sleep too. Will you be okay here?"

_Yes. I can sleep anywhere._

"Okay." Leena started to walk out, but paused. "Goldy?"

_What?_

"I'm glad you're on our side. We really need your help, now more than ever." She walked out. 

Goldy stared at the door for a long time after, looking very thoughtful.

* * *

"So there's four nations," Bit said, musing. "I guess we've already faced at least two, right?"

"Seems like it," Jamie said. "The first bunch were- what did you call them, Rand?"

Rand, the police chief turned. He, Bit and Jamie were all seated in the small shack that functioned as security headquarters. "The little ones are Medioguks, and the big ones are Mediozaks. They're from the East. The second group, the ones you just beat now, are Sand Crawlers, from the Northern Empire."

"So where do you fit in?" Bit asked. "I mean, you've told us about the four nations; which one are you?"

"None," Rand said flatly. "Everyone here left their various nations for one reason or another. We're basically a camp of refugees, human and organoid." He sat, looking thoughtful. "Most of the organoids escaped from slavery in the North, but the humans came from almost everywhere."

"Why leave?" Jamie asked. "What made a thousand people take off from their homes and settle out here?"

Rand sighed. "To answer that, I need to explain a little about the past." He motioned to the window, where the six moons shone down on the shoreline. "You see that water out there? That's the bottom-line cause of everything. This world has the unfortunate problem of being seventy percent desert."

"Just desert?" Bit asked, not quite believing it. "There's nothing out there but sand?"

"Nothing above ground. There's underground caves we harvest minerals and fuels from, but the surface is absolutely nothing but miles and miles of endless sand." He waved at the sea again. "Except for right there. That's the only source of water on this whole planet. One big saltwater puddle in the middle of a giant sandbox." He shook his head in annoyance. "Getting enough fresh water is a constant problem, especially in the big cities. The desalinization plants can't keep up with the need."

Jamie found he couldn't grasp it. "There's no rain? No mountains? No break at all?"

"Just endless dunes," Rand said grimly. "As you can guess, that caused a lot of problems." He sighed and rose, pacing. "Our historical record runs back about five thousand years. Unfortunately, it's too vague to really give us an idea of our ancestor's lifestyle. All we know is that it wasn't easy, four tribes sprouted up on four sides of the ocean, and somewhere along the line, the four nations bumped into each other. 

"Things haven't been peaceful since then. The four tribes didn't get along at all. We think there was some kind of tribal war over the water, but it ended when the four sides realized no one could win. It would take an army months to reach another tribe, and they were too far to call up reinforcements."

Bit nodded, understanding. "One nation couldn't hit another without going through another one first."

"Right. And when they'd dealt with the first wave, their own forces were too weakened to continue to the main target." Rand kept pacing. "Why no one formed an alliance with anyone else is still a mystery. If the north and south had teamed up, for instance, they could have pinned either the east or west between them and crushed them. But no one ever joined anyone else, and the small skirmishes kept up for centuries."

"And the wars just kept going until now?" Jamie asked incredulously. "Tribal fights kept up for five thousand years?"

"Not quite. Full scale war didn't start until about two hundred years ago. Until then, the only attacks were raids for food or more often, water, and when travelers from other nations would run into each other on the trails."

"So what happened to escalate things?" Bit asked. "From the sound of things now, the war is pretty intense."

"It's been getting worse and worse these past two centuries," Rand said grimly. "That's when truly modern war machines were built. The Sand Crawlers you fought tonight were the first ones to emerge. They gave the north an upper hand for a while, but the balance of power skewed quickly when the east stole some of their technology and turned it into the Mediozaks. The north focused all their military power on the east, which gave the south time to set up the strongest border defenses on the planet, and the west time to develop some truly incredible land forces of their own."

"What about the air craft I shot down?" Jamie asked. "Whose are those?"

"The east's," Rand said. "Each nation developed their weapons differently. The east focused mostly on air, so they have the only air force worth mentioning on the planet. The west focused on their land fighters, making them the strongest and most dangerous in direct combat. They might even be able to stand up to you two."

"Not likely," Bit scoffed.

"Save that until you encounter them," Rand warned, and continued his explanation. "The north did something that made a lot of people laugh and set up a navy."

Jamie blinked. "A navy? On a desert world?" 

"That's what most people said," Rand admitted. "They stopped laughing when they saw how the north could launch missile attacks from a sea craft on one shore and strike a city on another coast."

Bit whistled. "What kept them from winning with attacks like that?"

Rand grinned mirthlessly. "The other three nations. They never declared a truce, but all three are still working together to make sure the north can't get all the supplies it needs to make enough long range missiles to win the war."

"So that's three nations," Jamie said. "What about the south? What did they do?"

"Dug in," Rand said. "They've got the strongest border defenses of any nation. Not even a heavily armed land force from the west would be able to punch through."

"So that makes things… what?" Bit asked. "A stand off?"

"One that's gone on and on for two centuries," Rand sighed. "That's why this camp exists. It's a haven for people who are sick and tired of war. We deserted our countries and came here to live in relative peace. Occasionally, nations will come like they did tonight and try to steal or kill as many of the organoids as they can."

"That's something else," Jamie said suddenly. "Where did the organoids come from? How long have they been here? And how long have humans been here?"

Rand shrugged. "You're asking the wrong man." He motioned to the stripes on his chin. "See these? They're tattooed on at birth, and they mark the nation a person is from. Red marks mean I was born in the north. I deserted when I turned eighteen, but because I was raised up there, I wasn't taught anything about organoid history since they're just regarded as slaves. The only ones who could tell you about the origins of the organoids here are the southerners. They worship organoids. Consider 'em agents of gods down there, so how they ended up here is a required topic in school." 

"There's no one from the south here?" Bit asked. 

"No. Anyone born in there _stays_ there. I've never heard of a single person in that empire that didn't consider everyone outside their lands heretics for not bowing and scraping every time they see an organoid footprint." Rand shook his head in disgust. "I don't hold to the north's slavery ideals, but the south goes overboard."

Jamie was looking very, very interested. "No one leaves the south, huh?"

"Right. And lately, they've been doing some very unusual things down there." 

"Oh? Like what?"

Rand scratched his head. "The south doesn't send out patrols; they just dig in and strengthen their borders. Recently, however, they've sent hundreds of units out into the desert, combing every square inch of it for something."

Bit frowned. "What are they looking for?"

"We don't know for sure. There's rumors, of course, but I don't know if they're true." Rand sat down, running a hand through his brown hair. "They say that the organoid High Priestess vanished about five or six weeks ago, on a routine transport from one city to another."

"Routine transport?" Bit asked, confused.

"_Organoid High Priestess?_" Jamie demanded, sounding very uneasy.

"Organoids can activate an ancient form of light bridge," Rand explained. "It lets them move instantly from one place to another." He leaned back in his chair. "Apparently, their High Priestess was going from one city to another for a religious ceremony of some kind, and she never arrived." He smirked. "If the rumors are true, it would explain why they've been sending out patrol after patrol. She's the center of their spiritual beliefs."

Bit and Jamie exchanged glances. "Um…" Bit said nervously, "do you know what kind of organoid the High Priestess is?"

"No one sees her regularly except the highest members of the church and government," Rand admitted, "but from the scattered reports, she's gold. It's probably nonsense," he scoffed, not noticing Bit and Jamie's horrified faces, "There hasn't been a gold organoid born anywhere for five hundred years. Most people don't think they're even genetically possible."

"The water seller seemed to think so," Bit pointed out, still uneasy. 

"Zoko's one of the few that do," Rand said lightly. "He snuck into the south once twenty years ago and swears to this day he saw a gold organoid. Of course, Zoko likes to find bars in big cities like that and drink himself sick, so he was probably hallucinating."

Bit and Jamie laughed weakly, but said nothing else. For some reason, intuition said it would be a very bad idea to reveal they knew about and had dealt with a gold organoid.

"But enough of this," Rand said abruptly. "It's late, and I think you two have had enough for one day. Perhaps you'd like to get some sleep?"

"Sleep sounds great," Bit said, realizing he was very tired. "We can tell you what you want to know about us tomorrow."

"And we can work out a way to re-unite you with your friends," Rand said. "I have an idea about that, but it can wait for later."

"Thanks," Jamie said, rising. "Er… do we sleep here, or somewhere else?"

Rand smiled. "No, we don't need to make you sleep in the jail cells. Check with the largest tent at the center of town; that's where new arrivals go."

"We appreciate it," Jamie said, shaking his hand. "See you in the morning, then."

"Night, Rand!" Bit said, walking out with a wave. Jamie followed, closing the door behind them. 

A few seconds after they were out, Rand picked up a hand-held radio and spoke into it. "What do you think, Jor?"

{Hard to say. All you did was give them a history lecture. The real test is going to be when they talk to you tomorrow about _their_ world, if they actually are aliens.}

"A dozen people, aside from me, see the biggest light bridge landing in a century, in the middle of a region no one goes, and you still doubt they're aliens?" Rand asked.

{Yes.}

"Me too." Rand looked at the door, musing. "Make sure that equipment is working perfectly, okay?"

{You got it. Just make sure you don't stomp around too much. All that clonking around on the floor over my head distorts the voices.}

Rand looked down at the floor. Concealed beneath its floorboards was the most technology in the area, dozens of computers used for monitoring the activity on their borders, running their automated weapons, and half dozen other functions. 

The one Rand wanted it for as it concerned Bit and Jamie was simple enough: record their conversations, and check voice stress patterns to see if they were telling the truth. If they were, it meant aliens had arrived on their planet with war machines strong enough to nearly destroy every army thrown at them. 

Rand couldn't help but shake his head in amazement as he thought about the power of those craft. They commanded more power and respect than anything he knew to exist, and his world had been at war for centuries; for them to have such staggering weapons, their world must have been at war for even longer. 

{Jor to Rand! Did you get lost up there, or what?}

Rand shook himself. "Sorry, just thinking."

{Shouldn't do that too much. Gets you down.}

"Yeah, yeah." He sighed. "Run the final checks on the machines, then get some sleep. I have a feeling we'll need it."

* * *

Bit looked around the small room he and Jamie had received at the refugee center. It was just big enough for both of them, with one lumpy bed and one cot, a window, and what looked like a bathroom. "Cozy." He looked at Jamie. "Flip you for the bed."

"Just be glad we're not sleeping in our Zoids," Jamie chided. "If Rand hadn't pulled a few strings, that's where we'd be: trying to find the most comfortable position in a cockpit designed for combat."

"Ah, we coulda slept on the sand. I bet it's so soft we wouldn't even need pillows." Bit was checking around the room a little more. "There's a little bathroom back here, but there's no running water, just a five gallon jug."

"We'd better make that last," Jamie warned, pacing. "They probably expect us to use that for everything."

Bit shook his head, walking out and flopping onto the bed. "Man. At least the Hovercargo and some moderately decent travel desalinization equipment. We could take a real shower."

Jamie sighed, leaning on the windowsill. "You really think they're alright?"

"Sure. They're Zoid warriors, remember? S rank, no less. They'll do great." Bit put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

"That's what concerns me." 

Bit opened an eye. "Hm?"

Jamie sat heavily on the cot. "We're not used to this stuff, Bit. We've fallen onto a world that's in a serious war, not the play battles we do. These enemies aren't out to cause a command system freeze, they're out to kill."

Bit shrugged. "Big deal. We've already seen they can't hurt us. So far, all we have had to deal with are automated drones. Nothing major."

"Not yet," Jamie said, "but what if we start coming up against things that _aren't _automated? Are you prepared to kill them? Because you can bet any enemies will be."

Bit didn't say anything for a long time. Then, he sighed and said, "Let's just get some sleep. Rand said he had an idea to get across the ocean; we can worry about everything else in the morning." He rolled over and in minutes, his snores filled the room.

Jamie flopped onto the small cot, staring up at the ceiling. "Doc," he whispered, "what do we do?"

* * *

_Myth?_

Naru's voice echoed through Myth's mind, waking him instantly. "Yes?"

_Our machine has finished analyzing the unknown unit's fight. Based on their tactics, it has prepared to make the changes necessary to offset their advantages._

"Good. Are they in place?"

_They will be once the enemy is engaged._ There was some hesitation in Naru's voice before he went on. _Are you sure this will be enough, old friend? They are very powerful units._

"You said yourself the unit can develop features to offset their advantages," Myth pointed out. 

_This is a piece of western equipment. I don't know if it has a large enough power source to pull it off. I suspect the enemy will tear this unit apart as easily as it did the Sand Crawlers or Mediozaks. _

Myth frowned. "Then hold off on activating the modifications until we're losing the fight, _then_ activate them. With any luck, the sudden increase in our abilities will confuse them long enough for us to get the upper hand."

_I hope so. _Naru still sounded doubtful, but just as willing as he had ever been to risk entering a losing battle. _Be careful of the blue one, though. There is something very… strange about it._

"Strange? In what way?"

_I'm not sure. I just know that in addition to its considerable power, it has some other advantage. Almost like an organoid, but not quite._

"That's the second time you've said something about an organoid that's not an organoid," Myth frowned. "What does that mean?"

_There are whispers about something like this in our past… _my _species past, not yours. Something from before we came to this world at all…_

Myth was baffled. "What in the six moons are you _talking_ about?!"

_If I'm right, I'll tell you. If not, don't worry about it. _Naru suddenly sounded eager. _We have a battle to plan for, after all._

* * *

Author's Note: _This chapter ended up being a little break in the action for now. Sorry if I disappointed those who wanted more battles, but I kinda felt this stuff needed to be said. The next chapter should be up in a week again (8/12/02). As usual, I'm available at Guardian537Scott if anyone wants to talk. Thanks again to my readers and reviewers, and I hope to see you for the next chapter!_


	6. History of the Organoids and the Floatin...

Doctor Toros took the final watch of the evening for himself, staring at the lightening sky over the sea. He had to admit, strange as circumstances were, it was a beautiful sight. He only wished Bit and Jamie had been there with him to enjoy it.

More than anything else, the two of them had been on his mind. They had given up their lives to let the Hovercargo escape. As much as he tried to tell himself Bit had chosen that path, that Jamie had chosen to walk it with him, it wasn't helping. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape one thought above all others: _I killed them._

It wasn't the case, and he knew it in the logical part of his mind. He had done everything he could to get Bit and Jamie on board, short of get out of the Hovercargo and drag them in. 

_Maybe I should've done that._

He knew it was pointless to keep running it all through his mind, again and again. But he couldn't help it. He kept seeing Bit battling fearlessly against his opponents, holding them off, driving them back long enough for the Hovercargo to escape. Then Jamie swooped in from above, helping his friend fight as hard he could, tearing into unit after unit, destroying again and again. Then nothing, as water covered the Hovercargo's cameras. Minutes later, the explosion that had- _must _have- killed them. 

He knew Leena was angry, and still at least partially blaming herself. He knew Goldy didn't care one way or the other if they had survived. He knew Brad had already accepted his friends' death, and was prepared to move on. But no one, not even Leena, had as much guilt inside as he did.

He was the leader. He was responsible for the team's safety. And in their most critical hour, he had failed. He had not done anything to save them. Whether he could have or not felt irrelevant; he should have _tried._

Toros' thoughts had been chasing themselves all over his mind this way all night, even when he was off watch. He knew it wasn't doing him any good, but what was the alternative? Just forget them? Absolve himself of all blame? It wasn't that easy, even if a bystander might have said there was nothing he could do. 

What Bit and Jamie might have said, he'd never know.

The Doc rubbed his eyes, then checked the clock on the Hovercargo's panels. Just after six in the morning, back on Zi. Wherever they were, its days and nights seemed about the same length's as their own world's. 

That was what had been running through his mind second to Bit and Jamie: the planet they were on. They didn't know much about it, beyond what Goldy had told them. What they might need to know- Toros wasn't sure about that.

The door behind him hissed as Brad walked in. "Time's up, Doc. My shift now."

"Don't worry about shifts any more," the Doc replied. "We can start the actual day now."

Brad shrugged. "Okay." Not giving it a second thought, he walked down to his station. Once seated, however, he looked back up. "Any idea how much further it is across this ocean?"

"Not even a vague one," Toros said mournfully. "There hasn't been anything to tell us if we're near land. No boats, no planes, not even a stray bird."

"Too bad," Brad said, turning back to his console. "But at least we haven't seen any more enemies, right?"

The Doc sighed. "Fortunately, no. I don't think we can take another sea battle, to be honest. If another shockwave hits the same spot as before, or even close to it, I think we're going down."

Brad frowned. "The damage is that bad?"

"The damage itself isn't too terrible, but structure has been greatly weakened. My poor Hovercargo just won't stand up to it." Toros checked his instruments. "On the plus side, the pumps are keeping up with the leak well enough, and I've managed to get some water desalinized. There's enough for us to drink, and shower, so long as we keep it short."

"That's good. No offense or anything, but this place feels small already; if we all start reeking, it's going to be worse." Brad turned back to his screens, keeping an eye out for anything that might be an enemy craft.

Toros wanted to ask him how he did it, how he managed to just put Bit and Jamie's deaths out of his mind so easily, but didn't. They might be stuck on the ocean voyage for a while, and as Brad pointed out, it wasn't a good idea for them to start annoying each other. The carrier just wasn't big enough for it.

* * *

_The sub raced towards the slower Hovercargo, its weapons reloading after firing two torpedoes. There was no way to escape, the sub's engines were far more powerful underwater than carrier's. Brad was trying to arm the torpedoes, but it didn't seem like he'd be able to make it in time-_

The Hovercargo suddenly doubled its speed; a desperate action of Goldy's, merging with the engines, had given them enough of a speed burst to surprise the sub. They were starting to pull away.

Brad shouted to the air, saying to torpedoes were ready, fire now!

Leena aimed from the top guns of the Hovercargo, letting the two torpedoes streak back towards the sub. The first exploded right on its very front, the second a little further back, just on the underside of its hull. The metal crumpled as it slowed, water rushing in through the now gaping holes in the ship. It wouldn't be chasing them anymore.

Unfortunately, the shockwave caused by the torpedoes' explosions would. The compressed water raced to the Hovercargo, faster than they were moving, faster than they ever could, even with_ Goldy-_

The shockwave slammed into the blue drum of the carrier, almost flipping it end over end. Metal yielded to the water's intense force, crumpling it easily. Inside, Brad was thrown from his feet, the Doc tossed out of his chair on the bridge, Leena slammed her head on the weapons console in front of her-

"AH!" Bit jerked awake, sitting upright. His breath came fast, and a cold sweat beaded his brow. He wiped his face, running through what he remembered of the dream.

Or had it been a dream? He rarely recalled his dreams, and this one was more detailed than any he'd ever had. 

Bit shook his head, annoyed at his foolishness. Of _course_ it was a dream; he was worried about the others, and his mind had played that together with what he'd learned from Rand about the nation with a sea force. 

Right.

He stood, pacing. Jamie was still asleep on the little cot. Out the window, the camp looked silent. The sun was just rising over the horizon, spilling a faint blue light over the water. In the middle of the town, the Jager and Raynos stood, covered at least fairly decently with some extra white canvas. In a few more hours, he and Jamie could talk to Rand, find out what he had in mind to get across the ocean. If they were lucky, it'd be easy enough to get in contact with his teammates. 

Bit sat back down on the bed, seeing if he could get back to sleep.

It wasn't working; the dream had woken him up far too effectively for that. Bit sighed and rolled out of bed, and quietly slipped out.

The town was silent except for the faint rustling of the tent canvas. In a few hours, Bit supposed everyone would be up and about, but for now, he had the place to himself. 

Or so he thought. As he walked towards the Jager, a green organoid stepped out from the space between two of the stands, into his path. 

"Oh… Klor, wasn't it?" Bit asked uneasily. The organoid simply hissed at him in response. "Well, nice to see you. I'll just go now."

"Not quite so fast, boy," a human voice growled. Bit turned and found the old water seller- Zoko, had Rand called him?- standing back there. He carried no weapon this time, but he was looking fiercely at Bit. "You're not going anywhere until you answer a few questions for me."

Bit raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why?"

"Because Klor says so." Zoko pointed at the green organoid, which had all of its silver teeth bared. "Now, will you walk, or does Klor drag you in the sand?"

"Um… neither." Bit said, suddenly feeling more confident.

Now it was Zoko's turn to be surprised. "What?"

"I said no. I'm not going anywhere with you."

Zoko shrugged. "Fine. Klor, drag him." 

Before the organoid even twitched in his direction, the Jager's head was between them, growling fiercely. The white canvas covering it had pulled back enough to show the blue armor gleaming in the increasing morning light, and the Jager's growl conveyed the message very clearly, even to someone who couldn't hear him the way Bit could. _Stay away. This one is protected._

Bit grinned, looking smugly at Zoko. "I don't think you'll be taking me anywhere."

Zoko was staring in unbiased shock at the Jager. "Th- that- it-"

"It's my zoid. And it's very attached to me." Bit grinned. "Still want your green boy to try and drag me through the sand?"

Zoko looked nervously at the Jager, then back at Bit. "Perhaps you misunderstood me, boy. I wasn't trying to threaten you."

"You pulled a gun on me last night," Bit pointed out, leaning against the Jager's head.

"That was when I thought you were from the South. They've been trying to find us for years, and I thought you were just their latest attempt." Zoko spread his hands wide. "I just want to talk. Maybe I can explain a few things for you?"

Bit considered. Rand seemed trustworthy, and Bit couldn't see why he might lie to them. However, if he was, this was his chance to find out. Also, he might be able to learn a little about the organoids. 

Still… he looked behind him. "What do you think, Liger?"

_Less trustworthy than the other, but risk of betrayal or attack is negligible. This one is not foolish enough to try anything harmful, especially after being warned._

He nodded. "Okay, old man, let's go. Where do you want to talk?"

"My place," Zoko said. "It's right near my stand. I trust you remember where that is?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Lead on," Bit said. "Just keep Klor in front of me. I don't want those teeth behind me."

Zoko nodded and they walked quickly to a small shack next to his water stand. He opened the door. "Inside."

Bit shook his head. "Uh-uh. Not unless _he _stays outside," he said, motioning at Klor. 

The water merchant shrugged. "Fine. Klor wait here." The organoid growled, clearly unhappy. "I don't care. You stay out here." He turned back to Bit. "Are you _finally_ satisfied?"

In response, Bit walked in. "Coming?" 

Grumbling about impudent, picky youngsters, Zoko followed him in and shut the door. Inside, it was very dark, since all the windows were closed up and there were no lights on. Bit walked into a chair and gave a yelp of pain before Zoko lit up what looked like an old oil lamp. He gave Bit a look of mild concern. "You all right, boy?"

"Fine," Bit grumbled, rubbing his shin. He dropped into the chair he'd walked into, looking up at Zoko. "So what's on your mind, old man?"

The water seller put the lamp down on a small table and pulled a second chair close to Bit's. "Yesterday, you asked if I'd seen a gold organoid. Why?"

Bit shrugged, trying to look casual. He hadn't told Rand the truth about Goldy, and was reluctant to tell this shifty old man. "I heard they were rare. I was just curious if in a place like this, with so many organoids of different types, you'd ever seen a gold one."

__

Zoko grinned craftily. "Nice try, boy. But that won't hold up."

Bit tried to look politely insulted; it wasn't easy. "So telling the truth isn't good enough? Would you prefer a creative lie?"

"You just tried that," Zoko pointed out. "Last night, you said a gold organoid was traveling with some friends of yours." He leaned forward, so their faces were only an inch or so apart. "In all my life, boy, I've only seen one gold organoid. And unlike everyone around here, I know their importance to the south."

"Just the south?" Bit asked, leaning away from Zoko- he was much to close for comfort. "Why is nobody else as interested in golds, if they're as rare as you say?"

"Because they're the weakest color," Zoko said, standing and pacing. "Golds aren't fast to merge with a weapon, and they don't increase power nearly as much as some others. But those facts are very carefully obscured by the southern government; they want people to think of them as the most supreme organoids."

Bit frowned. Goldy had shown that she greatly increased the combat skills of any zoid she merged with, including Leena's gunsniper. Was the old man lying? 

Or would another organoid have increased the power even more than Goldy? 

Bit filed that thought away for later, then refocused his mind on the conversation. "Okay, so gold organoids aren't as strong as others, but they're much more important. Why?"

Zoko shrugged. "The same reason the rich man's son is worth more than the poor man's: he's more rare." He sighed and sat down again. "Gold organoids are only born every hundred and fifty years, if the priests in the south are lucky. At that rate, they usually get a new one just as their other one is about to die. They've even managed to spin that into some kind of legend, saying the priestess- it's always a priestess, by the way- has 'renewed her life energies'." He spat in contempt. "It's all a ruse, to enforce the legends and myths they use to keep the government under their thumbs."

Bit was getting very curious. "What are you saying? The church rules the government in the south?"

"You got it, boy."

"How do organoids let them do that?" Bit asked, feeling more and more baffled. "I can see them being used as soldiers, maybe to try and overthrow a government, but how do they serve religious purpose?"

Zoko sighed. "The answer to that question goes back to when the organoids first arrived here."

"Arrived?"

"Did Rand tell you about how the wars started, and how the planet is nothing but sand with a puddle?" Bit nodded. "Then all I need to tell you is the organoid story.

"According the legends in the south, it was about three thousand years ago, give or take a few hundred. Every night for a month, beams of light streaked through space, ending somewhere on this planet. In the north, people thought they were harbingers of doom. In the west, they were seen as friendly spirits, sent to help and guide. In the east, they didn't see very many, and when they did, they were taken to mean those who saw them possessed great inner strength. 

"But it was the south that saw the most, and the priests of back then saw a chance to seize power. 

"They claimed the beams of light were sent from the gods, and heralded a new age of power and growth."

Bit nodded, guessing he knew what was coming. "The beams… they had organoids in them, didn't they?"

"They did. We still don't know why they came, but our ancestors started finding them a few weeks later. People connected them pretty quickly to the lights they'd seen in the sky, and their feelings towards the organoids, as they called themselves, ran pretty close to what they first thought when they saw the lights."

"Wait a minute," Bit said incredulously. "You're telling me that current philosophies about organoids- from slaves in the north to gods in the south- are based on primitive guesses about lights in the sky from _three thousand years ago_?"

Zoko grinned. "You're not the only one who has trouble accepting that. Most of the people in this camp are the same way."

"I thought they were here because they were tired of a war that won't end," Bit said, feeling even more confused.

"There's that too. But there's a handful, mainly from the south, that are here to try and learn the truth about how humans and organoids are linked." 

Bit raised an eyebrow. "Rand said no one born in the south leaves it."

"Rand's a bright fellow, and good at his job, but he's never been too good at picking up accents. There's at least fifty groups here from the south, though they claim to be from somewhere else. And don't tell him I said that," Zoko warned, waving a finger at Bit. "Southies are mistrusted by all three of the other nations; the only reason they didn't give their actual nationality is so they could live in peace."

"And you'd know this how…?" Bit asked skeptically.

"They all got families. Young parents with little kids, mostly. The parents hear all their lives how organoids are divine messengers, and some doubt. They want to learn the truth, so they up and leave." He shrugged. "Maybe Rand does know, and just lets 'em say they're from somewhere else. Beats me." Outside, they could hear sounds of the town waking up. Zoko jerked his head towards the door. "You'd better get going, boy. Rand'll be wanting to meet with you soon, I'd wager."

Bit nodded and stood. "Thanks for the information. And until I've got reason to do otherwise, I'll stay quiet about the southerners here."

"Good." Zoko opened the door and Bit walked out, exchanging uneasy glances with Klor. He slipped quickly back to the inn.

Klor turned to Zoko and growled softly. "No," Zoko answered. "He's not from the south. But he's going to have to deal with them, that much is certain."

The green organoid gave a low hiss in response.

"That's dependant on how well he fights. Him and that flyboy partner of his." He stared hard at Bit's retreating back. "Tell you this much, though. They're in better hands than either of 'em know. That machine of his… there's something very special about it…"

* * *

Jamie frowned as he finished listening to Bit tell him everything Zoko had said. He stood and paced a little. "Do you think he's trustworthy?"

"Liger did, at least to go into his place and listen to what he had to say." Bit shrugged. "I can't figure why he'd lie to us, or why it would matter if he did. He didn't tell me anything really life or death. It's not like he's got anything to gain by not telling us the truth about how organoids got here." 

Jamie nodded, willing to accept that. "There's something else that gets me, though. How does he know all this stuff, especially about gold organoids? If they're as rare and important to the south as he says, how did a simple water seller in the middle of a refugee camp know so many details about the inner workings of the south's church?"

"I don't know," Bit said, frustrated. "I'm just telling you what he told me." 

Jamie glanced at his watch. "We've got an hour before our meeting with Rand. Let's get cleaned up, and maybe we can get some answers about Zoko from him."

* * *

"How much further does this ocean go?" Brad growled impatiently. 

"Take it easy," the Doc advised. "We've only been out here a day. It would take weeks to cross an ocean back on Zi."

"No offense, Doc, but I don't want to be cooped up in here for weeks," Brad muttered. "I already feel stir crazy."

"Oh, come one!" Toros chided. "You've been traveling the Hovercargo for longer than this before. How can you be getting cabin fever already?"

"Back home, I could at least get out and run the Fox if I felt like it. Here, all I can do is stare at the water and the little scanner screen in front of me." Brad glared at the console in front of him, as if willing it to show something different than the empty blue screen.

The Doc sighed. "Maybe Goldy knows how far it is to the other side. Want me to go ask Leena if she'll tell us?"

"No, I'll go. I need to stretch anyway." He started for the door, then paused. "Any idea where she is?"

The Doc checked over his equipment. "Try the magnetic launcher. It's open a little bit, maybe she's enjoying the sun up there."

Toros' hunch proved correct. Both Leena and Goldy were sitting on the launcher, Leena with her back against the Shadowfox's foot, Goldy curled up next to her. Leena had her eyes closed as she listened to the ocean. 

Brad sat down next to her, looking out at the water. "You awake?"

Leena blinked, sitting up. "Mostly. What brings you up here?"

"The Doc and I wanted to know if Goldy knows how big this ocean is," Brad said, skipping any small talk. 

Goldy raised her head, looked at Brad, and gave a small snort. 

"No idea," Leena translated. "Nobody sails across the ocean, according to her. They all use light beams, like smaller versions of what brought us here."

Brad frowned. "That's been bugging me. What was that doing on our world? I mean, why was there a…" He stopped, trying to find the right words, "a space bridge or something, on our planet, linking us to this place? It doesn't make any sense to me."

Leena shrugged. "I don't know." She looked at the organoid. "Goldy?" 

A short hiss answered in what was clearly a _No._

She shrugged again, turning back to Brad. "Not really a surprise, but sorry. Maybe someone can tell us something at Goldy's home."

Brad sighed. "Maybe. For now, it's just another mystery, I guess." 

Leena started to answer, and was suddenly cut off as Goldy abruptly let out a high-pitched shriek, like metal being cut. It was a sound they'd never heard her make, even when she was almost dead. The sound pierced the sea air, making both of them wince. 

"Why is she doing that?!" Brad yelled as Goldy screamed.

"She senses something!" Leena yelled back. "We have to get to the bridge! Something is coming!" She gave the organoid a small touch on the neck, trying to get her attention, but it was no good. Goldy continued to make her shrieking noise to the ocean sky. 

"Come on!" Brad shouted. He ran for the ladder leading up to the launcher. Leena hesitated, watching Goldy for a minute, then dashed after him. 

The Doc looked curiously at them as they raced into the bridge at a full run. "What's going on?"

"Goldy says something is coming!" Brad warned, diving into the center seat. "There's nothing on scanners!"

"Something is there!" Leena countered, checking her own sensor. "That was a very strong warning, and she wouldn't use it unless she got freaked out of her mind!"

It took them another few minutes to locate the source of Goldy's warning. Toros finally did however, and it wasn't good.

"That's bigger than the sub," Leena gulped.

"Substantially," Brad agreed, "and it's got that much more weaponry. I don't think it's seen us yet, but it'll sink us in a minute if it gets too close."

About a mile back, just at the edge of sensor range, was a huge vessel that reminded Brad of a floating fortress- or maybe a battleship on steroids. Guns bristled along every inch of its deck, ranging in size from ones that looked like they were to repel boarders, to others that looked like they could bomb cities off the map. 

The Doc gulped. "This isn't good. A ship like that can overtake us in no time. It's closing very quickly!"

"What about Goldy?" Brad demanded, turning to Leena. "Could she merge with the engines again?"

_Yes, _Goldy hissed, walking onto the bridge, _but it would do no good. They are too fast for this vessel, even with my aid._

"She says it won't work," Leena translated. "Do we have any torpedoes left?"

"No," the Doc groaned. "I only kept a few on board, and we used them against the sub. Besides, I don't think they'd do much good against that vessel."

There was a long silence. "So what do we do?" Leena finally demanded. "If we can't outfight them, and we can't outrun them, _what do we do?_"

Toros shook his head. "I don't know. For once, I'm at a loss." He slumped in his chair.

"What about diving?" Leena suggested desperately. "If we can't outrun them, maybe we can hide from them!"

_They would hear our engines,_ Goldy pointed out. _These ships are equipped with devices to let them listen underwater._

"I can't believe this!" Leena roared. "We can't lose like this! There has to be something we can do!"

"There just might be," Brad said quietly. He looked at the Doc. "How long can we stay under, with the leak in the hold the way it is?"

Toros shrugged. "Depends on the depth. If we don't go more than a hundred feet down, as long as we need to."

"Okay." Brad quickly jumped into the center seat, taking control of the Hovercargo.

Leena was looking at him suspiciously. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm setting us up for a dive," Brad said, half talking to himself. "I'm taking us down two hundred feet, then cutting the engines." He looked at Goldy. "Is that deep enough so they can't tell if we're still around?"

_I don't know,_ Goldy snarled. _It might be, it might not be._

"Better go deeper," Leena said, not wanting to dash whatever hopes Brad was relying on. 

"Not more than five hundred feet," the Doc cautioned quickly, "or the entire back of the Hovercargo will collapse. It's still weakened from the shockwave."

"Then I'm going push it to three seventy five," Brad said, punching controls. "When we get down there, everyone _shut up_. Our survival may depend on how quite we are." The Hovercargo suddenly began a quick descent, making Leena cling to her seat to keep from falling out. 

The hull creaked and groaned as they made their rapid descent, but no warning lights appeared on their consoles. When they reached three hundred fifty feet, Brad cut the engines. The Hovercargo drifted slowly down a little further, then halted.

"We're stopped," Brad said, barely speaking above a whisper. "Doc, where's that ship?"

Toros checked his displays. "Moving ahead as fast as it was before. You were right, I don't think they saw us."

"Now what?" Leena hissed. "We can't stay down here forever, and if we start the engines, they'll hear us!"

"Not quite," Brad said, tapping some controls very slowly. "I'm venting the water, so we'll start to rise. I'm keeping it slow, though. If I'm right, we can rise right underneath them, and they won't be able to hear us. Their own engines will mask our noise." He grinned at the surprised expression on their faces. "Land zoids aren't the _only_ ones I ever fought in, you know. Marcus and I got hired to fight a water battle once, and we used something like this trick with War Sharks."

"As long as it works, I don't care where you learned it," Leena whispered fervently. "How long until we're under their engines?"

"Two minutes," Brad said, watching his monitors very closely. "Now be quiet, I need to focus." 

Goldy looked at Leena. _This will not work for long_, she warned quietly.

"What? Why?" Leena asked, trying to keep her voice down.

_That ship can move much faster than this one. _She jerked her head towards Brad. _He may be able to keep us hidden for an hour, perhaps more, but sooner or later, they will hear us. When they do, they will assume we are an enemy and attack. _

Leena's stomach tightened as she realized the truth of what Goldy was saying. They needed to come up with a new plan… quickly.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: _I'm really sorry for the delay in getting this part up, but real life intrudes once more. I hope I haven't dissuaded any of you from reading; it's been the high point of things lately knowing how much people enjoy this. Anyway, I should be able to get the next part up in a week; and THIS time, a herd of Berserk Furies couldn't stop me! See you then!_


	7. A way across the ocean and Brad's action...

"We may have a way to get you across the ocean," Rand said as Bit and Jamie entered the security office.

"Really?" Jamie asked, stepping in and sitting down. "What did you have in mind?"

"There's a boat that makes runs from the opposite side of the ocean and back again," Rand explained. "Sometime it'll stop here and drop off food, ammunition, water filters, and from time to time, people. It should be simple enough to slip you two aboard and ferry you across."

"What about our zoids?" Bit asked. "We can't leave them behind."

Rand shook his head. "That's might be trickier. I'm not sure how easy it'll be to fit both of them onto the deck of the ship."

"We're not going without them," Bit said flatly. "If they won't fit on the ship, we'll continue following the coast until we get to the other side."

"Hopefully, it won't come to that," Rand said. "But until the ship arrives, there's nothing we can do." He sat down. "That's going to be a few hours, at least. Maybe we can kill some of that time with you two telling me some about your world? It must be very interesting."

Bit and Jamie were happy to oblige. They talked for an hour about their geography, the battles they had fought in, how the rules were set up, and all the various types of zoids they had used.

Rand leaned back in his seat as they finished, rubbing his face. "Let me see if I've got this right," he said, sitting up. "Your society has no actual wars to speak of. All of your nations are at peace with each other?"

"Have been for years," Jamie said. 

"And you use your zoids, the most powerful weapons this planet has ever seen, not for actual combat, but for _games?!_"

"Sounds right to me," Bit said causally, enjoying Rand's reaction very much.

Rand slumped, shaking his head in disbelief. "Unreal. Every person in this camp, and in most of the nations, would love to see the wars here end. And your society has actually chosen to _sanction_ battles with no purpose?!" He rubbed his forehead. "I just can't fathom it."

"Works for us," Jamie said with a shrug. "Besides, if we didn't have the battles, maybe we _would_ have wars. Everyone who's a zoid pilot now might still be fighting, they'd just be trying to kill each other."

"Nice thought," Bit grumbled.

"I just can't believe it," Ran said again. "Where did you get the zoids, if they aren't war machines?"

"They were, once," Jamie corrected. "But the last war was centuries ago. As far as I know, the zoid battles we have today started because those soldiers got bored. They organized huge tournaments, which drew in new, younger fighters. Eventually, zoid tournaments became so popular, they had to set up the Zoid Battle Commission to regulate them all. Our current system evolved out of that."

Rand gave a small laugh and leaned back. "Simply unbelievable."

"Can you tell me something?" Bit asked suddenly. "How did you know we weren't from this planet?"

Rand looked over at him. "I was on patrol out in the desert with a squad of men the day you arrived. A beam of light like a planetary transport, but larger, suddenly appeared out of the sky and touched down in the middle of nowhere. A few hours later, you show up in war machines that made scrap out of a battalion of Sand Crawlers in no time flat." He shrugged. "No one on this world can do that."

"There's something else we were wondering about," Jamie said. "You know the old water seller, Zoko?"

"Sure. What about him?"

"What can you tell us about him?"

Rand shrugged. "Not too much, really. He came here thirty something years ago, before even me. That green organoid, Klor, has been by his side the entire time. Nobody asked him many questions, and he didn't offer any information. They just started selling water, and have been living here ever since." He gave them a curious look. "Why do you ask?"

They were cut off by a sudden clattering noise from a desk in a corner of the room. Bit looked over and saw what looked like a type of fax machine printing something. Rand got up from his chair and walked over. "Looks like one of our friends in the North has something interesting to tell us."

"You have spies in the north?" Jamie asked, following.

"Not spies, really," Rand corrected, "just sympathizers. They're in all of the nations except the south, and they feed us information we might find interesting." He pulled in paper loose and read it over. "Well, well. It looks like this has to deal with your friends."

"What?!" Bit knocked over his chair standing up.

"Let me see," Jamie said, taking the paper. He read it quickly, then frowned. "This is a little vague. Is there any way you can get more information?"

Rand shook his head. "No. We only get what they send us."

"Lemme see," Bit said, reaching over. Jamie passed him the paper, then watched, puzzled, as Bit's eyes almost popped out of his head. 

"What?" he asked. "What is it?"

Bit was still reading the paper. The first few lines indicated it was from the Northern Oceanic recon ships to the Northern Oceanic commander. The actual content read:

_Sub-surface vessel 626 destroyed by unknown sea vessel. Sub-surface vessel 626 engaged target of unknown origin at coordinates L-43, Z-55. Recon unit reports craft made of unknown white metal with blue container mounted aft. Target is also clearly armed. Recommend launching of larger, surface vessel to pursue, investigate, capture if possible, destroy if necessary._

Bit looked up slowly. "Rand, what do the northern underwater ships look like?"

Rand frowned at the peculiar question, but answered. "Kind of like long cylinders with triangular prows. Why?"

_Triangular prows… just like the ones in my dream!_ Bit stood there, trying to think things through. If this report was accurate, it meant his dream was real; the description of the Hovercargo was clear enough to him. But how could he have dreamed this? There was no way…

"Bit? Are you okay?" Jamie asked uneasily. 

"Fine," Bit lied, setting aside the paper. "It's just concerning. If it does relate to our friends, it means they've got trouble coming after them."

__

"If your friends destroyed one of the North's submarines, I think they can take care of themselves," Rand assured him.

* * *

"If anyone has any more suggestions, I would be delighted to hear them," the Doc said tensely. 

The Hovercargo had managed to maintain its position behind the propellers of the large ship for just over an hour, but Brad's trick was about to fall through. The battleship was simply too fast for them to keep up with any longer, even if Goldy merged with the carrier, and they were minutes away from slipping out of the 'safe zone' created by the battleship's noisy props. 

"What about diving again?" Leena asked. "We could go down a few hundred feet, kill our engines, and let them get far enough ahead of us so that they couldn't hear us any more."

"Too risky," Toros said. "The leak in the zoid carrier is getting worse; if we spend more than an hour down there, we risk flooding the entire thing."

"And one hour won't get us enough distance," Leena said in a defeated tone.

Brad gritted his teeth. Leena's suggestion hadn't been the only one offered. Once it became apparent they couldn't remain hidden for long, they had tossed around idea after idea, trying to think of something. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to come up with anything at all. Every idea had a good chance of them ending up captured or destroyed, neither of which anyone liked. He had one idea, but wasn't sure how well it would go over.

Then Goldy spoke up, with his exact idea. _I have a plan._

Leena looked at her in surprise. "Really? What?"

_What is the range of the device you use to get your machines out of this carrier?_

"Uh…" Leena turned to her father. "Dad, how far can the magnetic launcher throw a zoid?"

"A few hundred meters," Toros answered. "Why?"

_That ship is less than a hundred meters away. If we surface the Hovercargo, it should be possible to send someone onto their deck, and destroy the ship from there._

Leena stared at her in shock. "What did you just say?"

Goldy misunderstood Leena's horror. _It would not be difficult to do. Their weapons are mainly for long range bombardments- they would not be able to repel a shipboard attack._

"That's not the point!" Leena shouted, ignoring the frustrated and confused looks from her father, and the sudden look of realization on Brad's face. "We can't do that! It's mass murder!!" 

"Leena, _what is she saying?_" Toros demanded.

"Let me guess," Brad said quietly. "Launch the Shadowfox onto their deck, and tear them apart."

Goldy gave him a very positive hiss. 

"We can't do it!" Leena insisted. "We're not killers!"

"It's our one chance," Brad said grimly. "Doc, get ready to surface the carrier. I'll be in my zoid in a few minutes."

Leena grabbed his arm before he could take one step towards the door. "_You can't do this!_"

"What would you suggest doing?" Brad snapped. "We've considered and discarded every other option. Besides, we've already destroyed one of their ships. This is no different."

"Destroyed?" Leena let go of him in shock. "You mean... the sub?"

"What else would I mean?" Brad asked, looking at her suspiciously. "_You_ fired the torpedoes that did it. You didn't know?"

Leena pressed her hand over her mouth, looking horrified. "I was knocked out… I thought they'd just been damaged enough so they stopped chasing us… I didn't know they were all _dead_…"

"There's no time for this," Brad said impatiently. "Doc, I'll be at my zoid in a minute. Get the launcher ready."

"Not so fast, Brad," the Doc said, holding up his hand. "You can't do this."

"You too?" he growled. "This _has _to be done, or we all end up dead!"

"There's a simple fact you overlooked," Toros said calmly. "How do you get back, once we launch you?"

There was an abashed silence as Brad realized the truth behind the Doc's statement. Getting to the battleship would be an easy toss for the Shadowfox; getting back aboard the Hovercargo would be nearly impossible, since the back door was inaccessible.

"I could make the jump back in through the launcher," Brad suggested half-heartedly. 

"No one could make that unless they have a flying zoid, and you know it," Toros countered. "But I think we can modify Goldy's plan a little bit, and make it work." He ran his hands over the controls. "Brad, go and get into your zoid. I'm going to surface the ship and open the launcher, but I'm not deploying you. When I open the door, you start firing on their engines with your gun. If you can damage their propellers, and maybe punch a few holes in their hull, it should distract them enough so we can make our getaway."

Brad nodded, considering. "We'll have to do this quick, though. If they get off even one round, we're dead." Without waiting for an answer, he raced off the bridge.

Leena sat in shock as the Doc kept hitting keys on his control panel. She hadn't even _thought _about the submarine, hadn't wondered if anyone had survived the torpedoes she'd fired… how could she not have done that? All those people had died because of her…

_They fired first, _Goldy hissed gently. _They would have killed you, as they killed your friends. You should not feel guilty._

"Shut up," Leena said dully. Nothing seemed to matter then, not even the battleship. She didn't even notice at first that her father was trying to get her attention. 

"_Leena!_" 

She jerked, snapping out of her daze. "What?"

"I need you to take the center console," Toros ordered, looking at her concernedly. "Open the magnetic launcher door, extend the ramp, and keep an eye on the battleship's guns. Okay?"

"Right," Leena said, taking Jamie's former station. She did as her father asked, doing her best to stay focused on what was going on now, trying as hard as she could to put the sub out of her mind. "Launcher open, ramp extended."

"Good," the Doc said. "You ready up there, Brad?"

~All set. The Shadowfox is prepped for action.~

Toros looked towards the battleship, his jaw tight. "Fire at will."

The Shadowfox's Vulcan gun cut loose, sending a hail of deadly fire into the battleship's hull just below the waterline. Geysers exploded out of the seawater as Brad's attack tore into the vessel's propellers, destroying the very thing that kept the enormous ship sailing.

The crew must have noticed it immediately, but they couldn't tell where the fire was coming from. Hardly any of the Hovercargo was exposed, and what was blended almost perfectly with the ocean. Because of that, Brad was able to shred their engines before they could even try to lock onto the Hovercargo with some of the smaller guns. The battleship began to slow, its momentum being worn down. 

"Good job, Brad," the Doc said. "Now get back down here so we can seal up the top. I want to go underwater for a while- we need to make sure they won't be able to hit us once we move away from them."

~Just give me one more second, Doc,~ Brad said. ~I've got a shot I don't want to pass up.~ 

They were about to ask what he meant when it became very clear. Brad opened fire again, this time targeting a large set of guns on the end of the ship nearest them. The shots tore through the barrels, rendering the weapons useless. 

"Nice work," the Doc said again. "Now get ready for dive-"

Without warning the entire rear half of the battleship exploded in an enormous fireball, sending shrapnel and burning fuel in every direction. 

Leena shrieked and jumped out of her seat. Goldy gave a delighted roar, and the Doc just sat in stunned horror.

Brad's voice came over the speaker a second later. ~I'm finished, Doc. Let's get out of here.~

Toros didn't respond; all he could do was numbly direct the Hovercargo away from the burning, sinking wreck. Leena kept staring in horror, while Goldy watched with what could not be mistaken for anything other than cruel pleasure. They kept watching as the carrier dove beneath the waves and sailed away from the destroyed vessel.

Nobody said anything as Brad walked back onto the bridge, and he didn't say anything to them. He merely took his station and calmly steered the Hovercargo further south, away from the wreck. 

Leena didn't do anything. She just sat at her console, seething. Finally, after fifteen minutes of deafening silence, she asked in a quiet, shaking voice, "How could you?"

Brad shook his head. "I didn't want that, Leena. I didn't expect the ammo in their guns to explode like that."

"Liar." It was just a single word, but it was spoken with more rage than anyone there had ever heard before. "You meant to kill them."

"Leena," Toros warned, "that's enough. Brad didn't mean to kill them, I'm sure."

"She's half right, Doc," Brad admitted calmly. "I knew the risks in shooting their guns. I was aware I might cause their reserve ammunition to explode. But I chanced it."

"And you killed them," Leena snarled, suddenly rising. "You killed every person on that ship!"

"Probably," Brad said.

Before anyone could blink, Leena had charged across the bridge and punched Brad in the face. Not an open handed slap, not a playful hit on the arm. She slammed him as hard as she could, right below the eye. Leena glared down at him, fist still clenched. 

"What are you doing?!" the Doc roared. "He saved our lives!"

"We could have left!" Leena shouted. "They couldn't have pursued us! Not after he destroyed their propellers!"

_They could have targeted us with their larger weapons, _Goldy hissed. _Destroying them was the only sure way we could escape._

Brad hadn't moved since Leena struck him. Now, he stood slowly, looking hard at her. "I'll let that one go. But I'm not going to forget it, and I'm still not sorry I destroyed that ship. Sooner or later you have to realize this isn't our own safe little world, that these battles aren't games. They're life and death struggles, and we're part of them now." Without waiting for a response, he turned and stalked off the bridge.

Toros watched as Leena glared after him, fists still clenched, then stalked off the bridge in the opposite direction Brad had gone. He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his face. "This isn't good," he groaned. 

Goldy hissed.

The Doc looked at her, then at the door. "How about it? Do you have any ideas on how to get us through this without killing each other?"

The organoid just looked at him with her burning red eyes, not making a sound. 

* * *

"Any luck yet, Bit?" Jamie asked into the radio Rand had given him.

~No. Sensors can't pick anything up at all outside the center of the town.~ He snorted. ~Heck, they can barely pick up the town itself, let alone one little boat in the middle of that big ocean.~ Bit gave another frustrated sigh. ~I'd absolutely _love_ to know why our sensors don't detect anything more than five hundred meters away on this world.~

"Can't say for sure," Rand said. "We've got the same problem with our own equipment; nothing is detectable outside a few hundred meters, except out in the middle of the ocean. Some think it's because of the organoids, but I don't see how that could be."

~I don't care,~ Bit grumbled, ~I just wish whatever's causing it _didn't_. I hate being blind.~

Jamie covered a sigh and turned his binoculars back out to sea. With their zoid's scanners nearly useless, it was the best way to watch for the incoming transport. He could have piloted the Raynos out and found the ship that way, but he didn't want to take the risk of being spotted by an enemy force. The last thing they needed was to draw any more attention this nearly defenseless band. 

Inside the Jager's cockpit, Bit stifled another exasperated noise. "Liger, can you pick up anything the sensors can't? Like maybe any organoids at sea?"

_No. The range for sensing an organoid is longer than the current sensor scope, but also more vague. It is too difficult to tell if one is being sensed on land or at sea._

"Maybe I should try going to sleep," Bit said disgustedly. "I might dream about the boat."

_What prompted that?_

Bit sat up in surprise. The question was asked casually enough, but there was a definite undertone to the Liger's voice, as if it was alarmed, but was trying to conceal it. "I had a strange dream," Bit said carefully. "The Hovercargo was under attack by some kind of underwater ship. Later, I found some information that made it look like my dream was real." He focused very hard. "Do you know anything about that?"

If the Liger had tried to hide its interest at first, it wasn't bothering now. _Yes. The dream was an actual event, that much is certain. _

"How is that possible?" Bit demanded. "How could I dream about something that happened to the others?"

_Unknown,_ the Liger admitted reluctantly. _It is possible, however, that a link has formed between the gold organoid-_

"And us?" Bit asked incredulously. "How could Goldy have joined into the link that you and I share?"

__

Again, unknown. But it clearly has happened. There is no other way for an actual event to occur inside a dream.

Bit's stomach was churning. In the dream, he'd seen the Hovercargo defeat the submarine, but he'd also seen them get knocked around by their own shockwave. Did this mean they were dead? Or had the dream simply ended before he'd had a chance to find out?

{Bit! The boat is coming in!}

"Okay," he said, forcing his thoughts away from his dreams. Whether the others were dead or alive, they'd find out once the ocean had been crossed.

Or he had another dream.

* * *

_We need to act, now!_

Naru's sudden yell jerked Myth into instant combat readiness from a light doze. "What is it? Have we been detected?"

_No, but they are getting ready to leave. A boat is approaching from the sea, and their communications reveal they intend to board it. _

"How long before the boat arrives?" Myth demanded, running his hands over the equipment.

_Ten minutes. We can be there and launch an attack in two. _The craft stood as Naru prepared for combat. _Should we go now?_

"No," Myth said firmly. "I don't want to engage both of them at the same time. We'll wait until one of them is secured on board, and then we'll attack the other one. If I'm correct, they'll secure the land unit first."

_Why the land vehicle? _

"It's bigger. If they secure it, and there's not enough space for the other one, at least it can still fly overhead." Myth pulled his restraints tight. "Get ready for ground to air combat."

_Understood. _Naru paused. _Are we trying to capture this one, or destroy it?_

Myth shrugged. "Let's wait and see if it's worth the trouble of capturing. If it can survive for a minute or so against us, yes, we'll capture it. Otherwise…" he gave another shrug.

* * *

Any fears Bit and Jamie had about the ship not being able to hold their zoids ended up being groundless. It would be a tight fit, but both units could be secured to the steel deck of the ship with numerous cables. 

Bit eyed the ship uneasily. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"The captains' an old friend of mine," Rand assured him. "He'll get you across the ocean, and keep his mouth shut. You've got nothing to worry about."

"It's not the captain I'm worried about," Bit countered, "it's the _ship_." The vessel was an old, rusted, patched hulk of a ship, clearly worked hard for many years. "This thing looks like one more good wave will finish it off."

"Metal is hard to come by," Rand said. "The military confiscates most of it in every nation for the wars, so private ships like these tend to be somewhat… run down."

"She may not be as flashy as those things you kids are using," someone said, "but she'll still get you where you need to go." A weathered hand clapped Rand on the shoulder. "Good to see you, old friend. Enjoying the land life?"

"Well enough," Rand said with a smile. "Hello, Danz. Welcome ashore."

They turned around and surveyed the man who had walked up to them. He looked as worked and rough as his ship. Danz, if that was the captain's name, wore patched clothes stained with oil and grease, and had shaggy graying hair under a filthy hat. He also had four or five days worth of beard stubble, and a blue triangle under one eye. 

Jamie looked at him warily. He leaned closer to Bit and asked quietly, "Are you sure about this guy? He looks kind of rough."

"I think he's okay," Bit said, but he sounded cautious as well. "But if you want to be sure…" he looked at the Jager. "What do you say, buddy?"

_Safe enough,_ the Liger growled. _This one will not betray unless betrayed._

"We're good as long as we don't double cross him," Bit said to Jamie. "No need for concern."

"If you say so," Jamie replied, still sounding slightly uneasy. "Do we load up our zoids now, or later?" he called over to Danz.

The sea captain turned away from Rand and looked over Jamie. "You're a flyboy, aren't you." It wasn't a question. "I've known several of 'em, all the best pilot in the east. You from there too, boy?"

"No," Jamie said, annoyed. "I'm not from any of your nations."

The captain grunted. "Deserter, huh? Not that I care, except that you're running with the most advanced weapon in the world, according to Rand. You bring the other nations down on my head, and I'll have yours before they sink me." He turned and walked back to his ship, calling back, "Just load the blue one first. Put the flying one aboard after it's secure."

Jamie stared at the captain as he strode away, looking seriously concerned. "I don't like this, Bit. No matter what the Jager says, I'm not sure I trust him."

"He's our best shot at getting across this ocean," Bit replied. "If he worries you that much, don't stray too far from the Raynos. But I trust Liger, so I'm going to get aboard." 

Bit walked the Jager gently onto the ship's deck, and as the crew secured it with dozens of inch thick steel cables over the same white canvas Bit had covered it with in the town square. The lines wouldn't prevent the zoid from moving if Bit put the Jager into action, but they would keep it from sliding around on the deck. 

The crew started motioning for Jamie to get the Raynos aboard. Still uneasy about the whole arrangement, he climbed into the cockpit and strapped in. "It's okay," he told himself. "This guy Danz is Rand's friend, the Liger says we can trust him, and we've still got the most powerful weapons around if anything happens." He started up the Raynos' engines. "There's nothing to worry about."

* * *

_NOW, MYTH!! NOW!!!_

Mythraun flung his craft forward, sending power surging through its previously dormant systems. In seconds, he reached the edge of the encampment. "Naru, more power! I need to get to the shoreline in one leap!"

_Done!_

The Western unit leapt into the air, jumping one hundred feet to the water's edge instantly. The splashdown rocked a rickety looking old boat with the other war machine tethered to its deck. The aerial unit was already twenty feet above the boat, clearly waiting for a chance to touch down on the deck.

Myth didn't give him that chance. "Naru, focus on the weapons! Increase power as much as possible!"

_Understood! Attack, now!_

Myth locked onto the flying unit and pulled the trigger.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: _That wraps up this chapter. A few more mysteries develop, a few answers, and one really nasty cliffhanger. I think I can get the next part done and up in about three days; this is a battle I've been _waiting_ to write. See you then!_


	8. Battle Mode 0000: Mythraun and Naruedo v...

There was absolutely no warning. As Jamie lifted off the ground, a strange, boxy-looking gray machine, almost like an ancient Hellcat, tore into the settlement, and landed in the water near the boat. 

No one aboard the ship had time to react. One second after the strange machine touched down, it opened fire on the Raynos.

Jamie, however, was in the air and climbing. He had an extra few seconds to react, and that was all he needed. Just as the unit below him fired, he jerked the Raynos controls and sent it spiraling upwards and out of the way.

Bit fumbled to activate his comm system. "Liger, why didn't you warn me?!"

_With so many organoids around, it is difficult to sense hostile intentions from one! There was no warning!_

"Tell me about it!" He finally got his radio on. "Jamie! You all right up there?!"

~I'm still alive! Where did that thing come from?!~

"It must have been hiding in the desert!" Bit cursed. "We should have realized they'd send something after us!"

~Well, now it's here! Let's deal with it!~ Jamie wheeled the Raynos around, raining down blue energy on the gray machine. 

It was faster than it looked. The unit leapt out of the way of the fire before the first bolt touched down, moving like a zoid.

Jamie cursed. ~This thing is tougher than anything else we've fought, Bit! Nothing else on this planet could have dodged my fire!~

"Just give me two seconds!" Bit said, grabbing his controls. "Liger can bust these cables like nothing, and we can-"

~NO! Bit, if you get into it with this thing, the whole town will get trashed! We can't let that happen!~ Jamie cried.

Bit's jaw clenched. "So what do we do?!"

~Leave him to me! I'll draw him away!~ Before Jamie finished speaking, he had the Raynos burning away as fast as it could, towards the open desert. The grey machine hesitated for a second, then tore after it.

_Pursue or stay? _the Liger asked. _This enemy is much more powerful than the others. And it has an organoid merged with it._

Bit's expression grew darker still. "Zoko said Goldy was a weak organoid…"

_Correct. The golds are the weakest species._

"Then Jamie could be in real trouble!"

* * *

_What are we doing, Myth? _Naru roared. _He is leading us into a trap!_

Myth stared up at the green flyer on his screens as they ran into the desert. "This is no trap. The pilot doesn't want to fight in the town. He wants to move the battle into the sands, to avoid casualties." He checked his console. "Has this machine come up with a suitable anti-air adaptation yet?"

_It has several. _A few different weapon schematics popped up on Myth's screens. _Which do you want?_

"Start with this one," Myth said, indicating one of them. "Let's see how he likes this."

* * *

The Raynos cruised easily through the desert air, keeping its speed low. Fifty feet below, the grey machine raced after him, keeping pace just as easily. "Okay," Jamie muttered to himself, "this should be far enough." He threw the Raynos into a loop, engines shrieking in the stillness. The enemy came back into view, and Jamie opened fire again. His opponent dodged once more, and returned fire with its own gun. 

Jamie yanked back on the control sticks and went into a climb, evading the shots. _This guy's not bad,_ he thought to himself. _Better watch out._

He leveled the Raynos out and looked down, seeing the strange machine still standing in the same place, one small gattling cannon mounted on its back. Jamie made certain his cameras were recording; he wanted to look at this battle data later.

Right now, however, he had a fight to win. Keeping the engines level, he spun the Raynos around, locking on with his main cannon-

Out of nowhere, two more guns appeared on either side his opponent's machine. It looked like they just… _grew _there, as if the metal were alive!

Caught off guard, Jamie couldn't react in time to dodge the sudden fire coming from three different gattling weapons. He did his best though, forcing the Raynos into a frenzy of wild acrobatics- he suddenly lost control and went into a steep dive-

Jamie blacked out.

* * *

Myth watched in satisfaction as the airborne fighter spiraled out of control towards the ground, seconds from crashing. "Looks like the land unit is the real enemy. It's that one we have to watch out for."

_Should we go back and attack while it's still tethered to the deck of that rusted ship?_ Naru's voice clearly indicated he wanted more combat.

"No. We'll let it- WHAT IN THE SIX MOONS?!?!" Myth roared in shock. The Raynos, mere feet from the ground, had suddenly pulled into a near-vertical climb, streaking up so fast it didn't seem possible. "How did he do that? No pilot in the world is that good!"

Myth's radio suddenly crackled to life and laughter came out of it. ~There's one pilot that good! Beware, my friend, for you now face the Wild Eagle!~

"Wild Eagle?" Myth growled. "We'll see how good you are, flyboy."

~Get ready to be amazed!~ the Wild Eagle taunted. Above, the Raynos pulled a flashy roll, showing off its colors.

Myth slapped off the radio. "I don't know what's going on, Naru, but this battle clearly isn't over."

_Good._ Naru's pleasure at being able to keep fighting was undisguised._ Do you want to use the other modifications?_

"Not yet. Let's see how this 'Wild Eagle,' whatever that is, deals with what we're already using first." Myth readied his weapons again, waiting for the next pass.

He didn't have to wait long. The Raynos spun around, the sun glinting off its green wings. It swooped in low, barely ten feet above the ground, dust flaring up behind it. Myth waited tensely, hands on the fire controls. He felt his gut tighten as the Raynos drew even closer, not even fifty feet away and moving faster still-

Myth fired.

At that point, the Raynos was less than twenty feet from his craft, and less than two seconds from a collision. No one alive could dodge a sudden spat of fire from three different gattling weapons. 

Except the Wild Eagle.

The Raynos shot up like a bullet, its tail scraping the ground as it pulled up, and the one huge engine on its back flaring to life, kicking the flyer into a mach two climb. Myth's craft staggered as the sudden shockwave from the Raynos' instant acceleration slammed into him. 

He looked around as soon as his fighter stopped shaking. "Where is he?! Naru, where did he go?!"

_Behind! He's coming up from behind!!_

Myth's viewers activated, and he saw the Raynos swooping in again, screaming over the sand at top speed, barely twenty feet up. There was no time to turn and fire, he was closing too fast-

Naru took control. A split second before the green zoid reached them, the organoid made the western unit leap into the air, clearing the Raynos by mere inches. But barely after the Wild Eagle made his pass, a second shockwave slammed into them, this time from behind, flipping them end over end.

Myth managed to twist his unit so it landed heavily on its four paw-like feet. "What in the _moons _is going on?!" he yelled. "That pilot was nothing like this a minute ago! Now we're barely surviving, and he hasn't even fired!"

_This is not the same pilot!! _Naru hissed. _This one is a born fighter, he _belongs _in the air! The other was not!_

"What are you saying?" Myth demanded as he scanned for the Raynos. "There's two people in that cockpit?"

_Does it matter?!_ Naru roared. _One way or another, we must win! _

"Right," Myth forced himself to calm down. "What is our status?"

_Minor damage only so far. It seems he's testing our abilities, seeing how far we can be pushed._

Myth grunted. "Clever of him," he admitted grudgingly. "The pilot may be worth capturing as much as the vehicle. Okay, so we know he can easily evade our gattling fire. What else do we have?"

_There are the other weapons the combat system came up with earlier, _Naru suggested.

"No good," Myth said flatly. "Those weapons were based on a totally different combat style. We need something that will be effective against _this_ pilot."

Naru's hiss echoed unpleasantly through his mind. _That will take time. The combat analysis device needs at least three minutes to prepare a suitable counter-attack device._

"We'll just have to give it that much time," Myth said grimly, "and hope the designers in the west are right when they boast these units can adapt to any enemy."

_Hope later,_ Naru growled, _fight now! Enemy approaching, three degrees left!_

The Raynos was swooping in once more, engines still burning at maximum. Myth's radio crackled and the Wild Eagle's voice came through again. ~Ready to give up, or do we play some more?~

"Keep laughing while you can, flyboy," Myth snarled. "You'll be begging for mercy soon enough."

The Wild Eagle laughed again. ~I'm _so_ sure that'll happen.~ He arced into the sky, ascending so quickly Myth couldn't follow even his vapor trail.

He let his breath leak out slowly. "Any advice, Naru?"

_I expect him to try and attack with the sun at his back, confusing your eyes. Try using one of the other suggested adaptations to keep him at bay._

"So long as they slow him down," Myth growled. He hit a few commands, and the gattling weapons the unit had formed retracted, sucked back into the unit. In their place grew two large missile launchers, each armed with half a dozen warheads. 

_You have to give them credit_, Myth thought grudgingly, _the westerners can certainly design impressive weapons. _

_Complimenting the enemy, Myth? Hardly proper conduct for a member of the Eastern army._ Naru's voice was half teasing, half serious.

"I've told you before, don't listen to my thoughts unless it's an emergency," Myth snapped. "I don't like that."

_It's hard to ignore someone who's shouting. In any case, the changes are in place. They're ready to fire whenever you pull the trigger._

Myth didn't have time to respond. The Raynos had suddenly appeared, as Naru had predicted, out of the sun. The black silhouette grew larger as it raced closer, giving Myth a better shot-

_DODGE, NOW!!!_

He just managed to jerk the unit aside, firing off two missiles of his own just the Raynos' fire blasted pits into the sand he'd been standing on. The Raynos, for its part, easily dodged the missiles by turning up and destroying them with a tail gun it hadn't used before.

It seemed the Wild Eagle was finished with testing them- it had barely destroyed the missiles when it suddenly twisted around, gunning at him hard, once more low to the sand, weapons firing rapidly. Myth jumped clear of the fire, and staggered as the Raynos tore past and slammed them with yet another sonic boom. 

"He is beginning to annoy me with those_,_" Myth snarled. 

_It's starting to give me an idea_, Naru said. _Give me control of the motor system. I'll take care of this plan._

Myth nodded. "Motor systems switched over to your command, Naru. Good luck."

_Just keep firing with the missiles. Leave the rest to me._

The Raynos suddenly appeared again, dropping like a stone for a hundred feet, then kicking its engines to full once more, flying twenty feet above the ground. Myth fired missile after missile, and held the trigger on the gattling weapon still mounted on the back of his unit. The Wild Eagle dodged the fire easily, streaking towards them shockingly fast-

The Raynos was fifty feet away when Naru forced the machine into a twisting leap. Only instead of landing on the ground to be pounded by another sonic boom, they landed on the back of the Raynos itself, clamping down hard on its wings. 

"Nice work!" Myth yelled. "Was this your brilliant plan?! Jump onto a craft moving faster than the speed of sound?!"

_Yes! Worked nicely didn't it?! _Naru's voice was half sarcastic and half serious. _Blast him apart with the gattling weapons! Tear his wings off!_

Before Myth could reach for the weapon controls, the Wild Eagle's voice piped through the radio once more. ~Want a ride? Okay, then hang on!~

Myth felt his stomach leave his body as the psychotic pilot below them pulled into a sharp climb, sharper than any he'd seen pulled yet- or maybe it just felt that way since he was clinging to the back of the aircraft. He couldn't even try to reach for the weapon console- the G forces had pushed him back into his seat so hard it was all he could do to stay conscious.

Naru had slightly more success. The organoid was able to access the weapon systems, and prepared to fire-

Myth suddenly found himself being almost thrown out of his seat through the viewscreen in front of him. The Wild Eagle had suddenly dove sharply, as if aware of what Naru had been trying to do. It took both of them to make sure they didn't fall forward and crash onto the unforgiving desert below.

~Okay, enough is enough,~ the radio said; it sounding the Wild Eagle was starting to get annoyed with his hitchhikers. ~No more free rides!~ The world lurched again, and Myth suddenly felt like he was caught in a whirlwind- the Raynos had gone into a barrel roll, flipping upside down and right side up so quickly he was seconds away from being sick all over his console.

He never got the chance, however. The western unit had been able to cling to the Raynos' wings in a climb and dive, but the roll proved too much. Three seconds after the insane move had started, they were tossed off at last, and landed badly on the sand.

Myth tried to force the machine to stand, but his own head was still spinning; the best he could do was a shaky stagger. 

But he wasn't paired with an organoid for nothing. Making up for his human partner's weaknesses was Naru's job. He managed to get the machine standing quick enough to prepare for another attack. The Raynos, fortunately, was far enough away that it didn't present an immediate threat. _Sorry, Myth. I didn't expect anything like that._

"I… gathered that," Myth said, gasping for breath. "Any more brilliant ideas?" 

_Not like that. But it did give us the time we needed for the adaptation program to make its plans._

"Show me," Myth ordered, pushing himself upright in his seat. His body was starting to respond normally again. 

A single device appeared on the screen. Myth stared at in disbelief. "_This _is the best weapon the vaunted western adaptation program could come up with?!"

_The best weapon for this job, _Naru said, although he sounded doubtful as well. _It seems like our most likely chance of success._

"We were better off on the back of that beast," Myth growled. "Fine, we'll try it. Implementing adaptation now." The gattling weapon on the back of his unit melted away, into the structure of the main body. In its place grew a very strange looking device, like an oversized, hollowed out cone, lined with mirrors, then placed on its side. 

Myth looked at it distastefully. "This is only going to work if he keeps to his previous tactics."

_I know. _

They had nothing to fear on that score. Once more, the Raynos swept in, throwing sand up in its wake as it screamed toward them at greater than the speed of sound. Myth waited until it was one hundred feet away, then activated his new weapon.

A dozen brilliant flashes of light exploded from the top of his unit, flaring up from the device that had just been formed. To a different opponent, it wouldn't have been much of a weapon; it was just several bright lights in rapid succession.

To the Wild Eagle, however, it was almost a death sentence.

~AARGH!!~ 

Streaking over the sand at such a low altitude, and at such a high speed, he couldn't lose concentration for a second, and as the bright lights blinded him, and the Raynos twisted out of his control. Its left wing dipped into the sand, digging a three foot deep trench. The flying zoid almost twisted itself into a scrap of smoking metal, but somehow righted enough to avoid crashing-

And Myth fired a volley of missiles. 

Maybe the Wild Eagle regained enough control to avoid being hit by them, maybe the Raynos' A.I. program's were enough to dodge the missiles. Either way, the zoid managed to evade the actual projectiles. 

However, the battle was over. The Raynos hit the ground, and skidded to a stop several hundred feet away.

Myth stared in blatant disbelief at the crashed unit. "I can't believe that worked."

_Neither can I,_ Naru admitted. _Perhaps the westerners _do_ know what they're doing._

"Maybe so," Myth said, beginning to feel very satisfied. "In either case, it was enough to win us this battle. Let's see if we can't figure out some way to drag this flyer back to-"

His ears almost shattered as a ground-splitting roar echoed throughout the desert. Before he could even look around to try and figure out where it had come from, he felt his unit stagger as it was slammed broadside by something. He crashed into the sand several meters away, shaking his head. "What.. was that?" he finally managed.

_Our true enemy,_ Naru spat, also sounding shaken. _Look over there._

Myth looked to his left and saw, in all its glory, the unit that had destroyed so many automated fighters.

It was even more incredible than he could have imagined. Gleaming blue metal covered nearly every surface, and two huge engines were mounted on its back. It was easily twice the breadth of his own craft, and it had a mouth of shining, golden teeth, matched by powerful claws on its massive feet. It resembled some kind of desert feline more than anything else. Looking at it, Myth felt as though he had been playing with mere toys his entire military life. _This _was a true weapon. 

_And now we will die at its hands,_ Naru said grimly, hearing Myth's thoughts again. _Its attack knocked out our weapons, both standard and adaptive. We cannot fight back._

Myth nodded, accepting. "At least we went down to something that magnificent." He sat back, waiting for the final strike.

It never came.

His radio crackled once again, but it wasn't the Wild Eagle who spoke this time. ~Is your unit too damaged to move?~ 

Myth was too startled to respond for a second, then keyed his comms to answer. "No. You merely damaged my weapons."

~Fine. Then get out of here.~

Now he was _very_ confused. "You… aren't going to kill me?"

~Not yet. You've got thirty seconds to leave before I change my mind.~ 

Myth stared in astonishment. Then, he decided to take the second chance he was being offered. "Let's go, Naru. Get us out of here as fast as you can."

_Fine._ The organoid was clearly angered at being defeated, but was willing to walk away alive. _Just one thing. Who is it that defeated us? _

"Good question," Myth said. "Who are you, warrior?"

There was a brief pause, then the radio spoke once more. ~My name is Bit Cloud, zoid warrior. Now leave.~

"Bit Cloud," he mused. "I will remember you." He started to force his damaged machine into a run. 

Naru shot back one message of his own, even though it wouldn't be understood: _Know this, Bit Cloud! You have not seen the last of Mythraun and Naruedo! _

Another roar chased them into the desert, and Myth almost swore he heard words in the sound: _Perhaps. But the Liger Zero will be waiting._

* * *

Bit watched the grey machine retreat as fast as it could. When it vanished out of eyesight and scanner range, he let out a shaky breath. "I am very, _very_, glad he left."

_That was no threat, _the Liger said calmly. _It would have been nothing to defeat it. _

"Maybe not to beat the machine," Bit said uneasily, "but what about the man inside it? Could we have beaten him without killing him?"

_That pilot retreated instantly. What is the cause for concern?_

"I've never killed, Liger!" Bit said, frustrated. "In all the battles I've been in, I never killed! We fight until a system freeze, and it's over!" He frowned, staring after the machine. "Everything I've fought on this planet up to now has been automated. What if it comes down to that? What if I end up having to kill someone?"

The Liger was silent for a long moment. When he finally spoke, he didn't answer Bit's question. _How much longer will the Raynos stay crashed on the sand before it merits attention?_

Bit hit his forehead. "Jamie!" Opening the cockpit, he leaped down and raced over to the Raynos, hammering the cockpit glass. "Jamie! Are you okay in there?!"

The lid opened, and Jamie appeared, holding his head. "Oooohh…. what hit me?"

"You all right?" Bit asked. 

"Uh… think so." Jamie straightened in his seat, releasing his restraints and looking around. "I don't know what happened, though. I remember going into a dive to avoid some shots, but then everything wipes out." He looked around. "Did you take care of him?"

Bit shook his head. "No. But I think I have some idea of what happened. You didn't crash straight off; we heard the battle sounds all the way back at the boat."

Jamie's expression twisted into a wry grin. "Let me guess. The Wild Eagle."

"Probably," Bit acknowledged. "We'll have to check the your flight recorders."

"So long as they still work," Jamie said concernedly. "I hope the Raynos isn't damaged. It looks the Wild Eagle crashed my Raynos pretty hard."

"Don't worry too much about it," Bit said calmly. "Let's just get back to the settlement. We still have a boat to catch."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: _Whew! That had to be my longest battle ever! I just hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was fun to do something with Jamie/The Wild Eagle for once; I seem to neglect him more than the others. Anyway, the next chapter might be a little longer in coming, but it'll get here. I'll shoot for the eleventh; we'll need something fun that day. I'll see you then!_


	9. The Southern shore and further divisions

In the late afternoon of the Hovercargo's second day on the water, the other side of the ocean came into view.

                The Doc couldn't believe his eyes for a minute. He checked his sensors, then rubbed his eyes. The landmass didn't vanish. 

                Eagerly, he hit the intercomm. "Brad! Leena! We've reached the shoreline!" He took the Hovercargo off its autopilot, steering it gently towards the land.

                Brad, Leena, and Goldy all arrived on the bridge in rapid succession. They seemed to have put aside their squabble, and were looking towards the shore as excitedly as he was. "It looks like the shore is about ten miles away," Brad reported. "We can be ashore in a few minutes at this rate."

                "I'm not getting anything on scanners," Leena said. "No enemy units, no more water craft, nothing."

                "Maybe we're finally catching a break," the Doc said. "Just keep your eyes open, okay?"

                _There is no reason to be concerned, Goldy said happily. __I'm finally home. Soon, we'll have the warmest of warm greetings._

_                "I just want to go __my home," Leena said. "Can you send us home?"_

                _Of course, Goldy said. __You can be sent back as soon as we get inside the city, if you like._

                "Everyone hang on!" the Doc announced suddenly. "We're coming ashore now!" There was a slight bump as they Hovercargo switched from floating in the water to skimming over the ground, and they were out of the ocean. "That's it! We're back on dry land!"

                Brad let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Two days on the water was too much as it is." He stood up. "Doc, I'm going to get in the Fox. I can scout ahead, keep an eye out for anything hostile."

                "I'll go too," Leena said quickly. "You might need my firepower."

_                It is very safe, Goldy hissed. __We're less than an hour from my homeland's borders._

                "Better not to take any risks, right?" Leena said. "Something might still go wrong."

                Toros looked very hard at the two of them. "You can get into your zoids, but stay close to the Hovercargo. Don't go any further than fifty feet ahead on the nose."

                Brad raised an eyebrow. "You really need us to stay that close, Doc? The Hovercargo can take of itself fairly well."

                "Given our experiences on the other shore, this seems prudent," the Doc replied shortly. "No straying away. Keep close."

                They both nodded and headed to their zoids, Goldy following Leena closely. A few minutes later, Brad's voice crackled through the comms. ~All set, Doc. Shadowfox ready for launch.~

                ~Gunsniper ready as well,~ Leena reported. ~Goldy's already merged, and I'm fully loaded.~

                "Opening magnetic launcher and lower carrier," the Doc announced. "Launch!"

                Brad felt a rush of exhilaration as his zoid flew into the air, then arced back down to the sandy ground below. It had only been a few days since he'd been launched like this, but it felt so much longer. He keyed his radio. "I'm down, Doc. Ready to start moving out?"

                ~Yes,~ Toros answered. ~Keep things limited to the Hovercargo's top speed, and remember to stay within fifty meters.~

                ~We didn't forget, Dad,~ Leena said impatiently. ~Now let's get rolling!~

                "Engaging engines," Toros responded. The Hovercargo started forward once more, the Shadowfox and Gunsniper staying fifty meters from the nose. The desert stretched in front of them once more, as rolling and seemingly endless as the ocean had been. _I just hope it doesn't take two days to cross this as well, the Doc thought with a frown._

                Maybe that thought occurred to Brad as well as the Doc, because after only a few minutes, he asked, ~Leena, how far is it to Goldy's home from here?~

                She didn't respond.

                ~Hey, you awake over there?~ Brad called.

                ~I heard you,~ she said coldly. ~I just didn't answer.~

                Brad gave a disgusted sigh. ~Silent treatment? Real mature, Leena.~

                "Save it, you two," the Doc chided. "Leena, how far is Goldy's home?"

                Leena replied, but it sounded like the words were being dragged out of her. ~She says at this speed, it's just a few hours travel. We have to be careful, though. Goldy says this is an especially dangerous area.~

                ~Thanks for the warning,~ Brad said, sounding concerned, ~but my sensors aren't working again. I can barely pick up anything beyond a thousand meters.~

                Leena frowned at her own scanners. "Same problem here. Everything outside that range is just a blur."

                ~Even the Hovercargo's affected,~ the Doc reported. ~It wasn't this bad on the ocean. I wonder what's causing it?~

                ~Could be anything,~ Brad said grimly. ~Unfortunately, I don't think there's anything we can do about it. The best we can hope for is that the planet's inhabitants have the same problem.~

                The comms fell silent, and the little band continued their run towards Goldy's homeland. Leena kept one eye on her scanners, even though they were almost worthless. 

                _It won't be long now!_

                Leena blinked as Goldy's voice piped up. "What?"

                _I'm almost home! It won't be long now before we're feasting in the great hall of my city! She sounded very happy. __I can't wait for you to see it, Leena. It's the most beautiful city you can imagine. _

                "Sounds nice," Leena said dully. 

                Goldy seemed to notice her lack of interest. _You're not still fretting about that ship, are you? _

                "It's not the ship I'm upset about, it's the people!" she yelled. "Brad killed them all!"

                _He had to, Goldy said calmly. They__ would have killed us. __Perhaps he would consider signing up with my nation's military, she mused. __He'd certainly go far._

                "I somehow doubt he'd go for that," Leena said. "He likes being paid for battles too much."

                _Games, the organoid sniffed. __Not even close to real combat. _

                "It's as close as I care to get," Leena answered, starting to get annoyed with the conversation. "Now shouldn't we be watching out for an enemy attack? You said this was a dangerous place."

                _Not as much as you believe, Goldy said calmly. __We're now less than ten miles from my borders. No one would dare attack us here._

                The ground in front of the Gunsniper exploded.

                The concussion blew the zoid back, almost into the Hovercargo. Leena struggled with the controls, fighting to regain command. "Dad! We're under attack!"

                ~I've got them!~ Brad yelled. ~Five units, coming in fast from the west! They're only seven hundred meters away!~

                ~Damned sensor failures!~ Toros cursed. ~Brad, watch yourself! I'll get closer and use the Hovercargo itself to engage them!~

                ~You think I'm about to hold back?!~ Brad yelled. With a ghostly howl, the Shadowfox charged forward, its gun blazing. 

                Leena shook her head, trying to clear it. "Goldy! Run for the battle! They'll need help!"

                _Moving! Goldy sounded tense. __Are you sure about this? We're very close to my borders!_

_                "We can't just run!" Leena checked her weapons. "I'm going need my thrusters! Hang on!" She reached for a silver flip cover, a red button underneath it._

                _You're aware these are not automated units?_

_                Leena's hand froze. "What?"_

                _Look at your scanners._

                The monitor showed a slightly snowy image of seven strange craft. They had four legs, and looked almost like zoids. The difference was while nearly every zoid was clearly based on some kind of animal, these machines were clunky, with box-like battleship grey bodies. Mounted on their backs were large gattling weapons, similar to the ones on the arms of the first units they had encountered, what Goldy had called Mediozaks. They had a head, but it was also featureless. The whole thing made Leena think that someone had tried to assemble a zoid, but with none of the skill or class their own machines possessed.

                _These are not automated. Each one is piloted by a human, with an organoid assisting them. They will not stop fighting unless you kill them, and they will not stop if you suffer a command system freeze. If we do not run for my home, they will tear us apart! They will kill you, your friend, and your father! Goldy was starting to sound frightened. __This is not __one of your play battles!_

                Leena exhaled, calming herself. "Then I guess _can understand why Brad did what he did."_

_Then you won't hesitate to kill?_

"I didn't say that. I'll just defeat them without killing them." She opened the silver cover and pressed the button. 

                Brad charged into the midst of the seven machines, firing his Vulcan weapon. He only grazed one of the fighters, the rest dodging quickly. He cursed. "These guys are faster than the ones Bit fought!" He cut his gun and leapt into the air. "_Strike Laser Claw!"_

                He had more luck with that. His attack tore the right front leg off the closest unit, and he bounded away before the machine had collapsed to the ground. The Doc was doing what he could, firing rapidly with the Hovercargo's guns, and the shields up. He was managing to keep three of them occupied dodging his fire, but that still left three units in commission for Brad to deal with.

                Until Leena entered the fray. 

                "_Weasel Unit Total Assault!!!"_

                Her barrage struck a second unit, crashing it to the ground in a smoking heap, but not destroying it. "Goldy! Is that one out of commission?!"

                _You mean, do you have to kill them? Goldy growled. __No. They're down for the fight. You damaged the power source._

                ~Leena! Does Goldy know what these things are?!~ Toros yelled, still dealing with three fighters.

_                These machines are from the west! They call them Rykian warhounds!_

_                "Delightful," Leena growled. "What can you tell me about them?"_

                _They're more dangerous than the Mediozaks you fought earlier! They are faster, stronger, and have one major advantage I'm certain will come into play!_

                "So what is it we need to watch out for?" Leena yelled, dodging one of the machine's gattling fire.

                _They're adaptive weapons! They change their abilities based on combat styles and strengths of _

_their__ opponents!_

                "Oh, just _great!" Leena yelled. "Dad! Watch out for these things! They can change to fit the way we fight!"_

                ~Change?! Change how?!~ the Doc demanded.

                ~I think I know,~ Brad said grimly. ~Look at what mine is doing!~

                Leena and the Doc both glanced at the Warhound Brad was fighting, then froze in amazement. 

                The dull grey metal of the machine was stretching, like it was being pushed outward from the inside. In just a few seconds, the Rykian fighter had simply _grown what looked like two additional engines on either side._

                Brad exhaled slowly. ~_This could be trouble.~ _

                The Warhound's new engines fired, hurling it straight at the Shadowfox. Brad managed to roll out of the way, then charged back with another Strike Laser Claw. The Rykian unit showed off its new maneuverability by using its jets to dodge his attack and fire wildly from its gattling gun.

                Leena didn't have time to watch any more. Her own opponent had begun to change, but differently than Brad's. Instead of engines growing out of its side, this one's gattling weapon was mutating into a something looked like a boxy rocket launcher, and growing two replacement guns on its sides. 

                She looked at it uneasily. "What is that, Goldy?"

                _I don't know. _

_                "Big help," Leena muttered. "Okay, let's see if this takes care of him too." She locked all her weapons again. "__Weasel Unit Total Assault!"_

                The Gunsniper staggered as it released a second barrage of fire ripping toward the Warhound. This time, however, it didn't try to run. Instead, it fired its own weapon-

                For a confused second, there was nothing but smoke and ash filling the air. A split second later, Leena barely managed to jet out of the way of the Warhound's own gattling fire.                "What was that?!" she yelled, strafing as fast as she could.

                _A scattering cannon, Goldy hissed. __It fired a warhead that released shrapnel into the air, confusing your target lock. _

                Leena's teeth clenched. "Not good."

                She wasn't the only one having trouble. Brad was fighting as hard as he could, but the Warhound was able to keep one step ahead of the Shadowfox, always just out of range or able to dodge his attack. Fortunately, it also wasn't able to land a hit; Brad was putting the Shadowfox through its moves faster than ever.

                "New ideas!" Leena yelled, trying to focus. "Any ideas, Goldy?!"

                _Uh…_

                "Never mind!" Yanking roughly on the controls, Leena's jets flared to life, and she tore down the side of the machine before it had a chance to react. Once past the machine, she spun around, and fired again, this time at its unprotected back. It collapsed to the ground, its back legs and end a crumpled, shattered mess. 

                Leena let out a relieved sigh. "That takes care of those two. How you doing, Brad?"

                ~Well enough,~ Brad said, although his voice was strained. As she watched, he forced the Shadowfox into a bizarre, twisting leap to dodge another gattling attack from the Warhound. Brad finally managed to win, almost by luck, when he was able to land on the back of the Rykian machine and tear out half its innards with the Fox's teeth.

                Brad's face appeared, breathing heavily. ~That took forever. You okay?~ 

                "Fine," Leena replied. "Where's Dad?"

                ~I'm over here!~ they heard the Doc yell. ~And if you two aren't too busy, maybe you could help me out?!~ 

                The Hovercargo was having worse problems than Brad or Leena had been dealing with. Not being able to breach the carrier's shields with their gattling weapons, they had also adapted to a new tactic. Two of the Rykian fighters had replaced their guns with odd dome-like devices on their backs; the third had grown a large energy cannon. 

                "What're those for?" Leena wondered aloud.

                ~Stay still too long and you'll find out!~  the Doc warned. ~LOOK OUT!~

                Leena heeded his warning just in time. Just as she forced her Gunsniper to jump left, a massive burst of orange energy ripped past her, blasting a trench in the sand with the sheer force of its passing. 

                 "I'm getting sick of saying it," Leena gasped, "but what _was that?!"_

                ~Linked fire!~ Brad yelled. ~The two units with the domes transfer energy to the one with the gun, and it unloads with that massive cannon!~

                Goldy suddenly hissed angrily. _Your father is abandoning us!_

                Leena whirled and stared in disbelief. The Hovercargo was truly moving away as fast as it could. "Dad! Where are you going?!"

                ~We're almost to Goldy's borders, right?! You two make a run for them; I'll draw these things away!~ the Doc yelled back. ~They'll ignore you two; you make for harder targets!~

                Leena felt her stomach drop out as she realized what her father was going to do. "You can't, Dad! They'll kill you!"

                He didn't have a chance to respond. The three Warhounds suddenly lined up, the two with domes on either side of the one with the gun. Orange energy began to flow from the domed units, into the third's cannon. 

                _Move! They're going to fire!!!_

                "_DAD!__ WATCH OUT!!!"_

                ~Get clear doc! Get clear!~

                ~It's no good! I can't get the Hovercargo out of range in time!~

                The Warhounds fired. 

                For a moment, Leena couldn't see what happened; the energy weapon threw up too much smoke as it raced towards its target. Then, the dust cleared, and the Hovercargo came back into view.

                A huge burn marred its left side, very close to the bottom. The carrier was tilting heavily to the left, and it wasn't moving. All she could do was stare in horror.

                ~Doc! Doc! You okay in there?!~

                There was a long, uneasy moment of silence. Then, to their immense relief, the Doc responded. ~Ugh… I'm fine, just a little rattled.~ He sighed. ~I can't say the same for my poor Hovercargo, though. That shot took out my port hover units; I can't move.~

                _Neither can they, Goldy said, sounding grim but also satisfied.__ They put too much into that last shot; they can't fire again for a few minutes without totally draining their machines._

                ~Doc, are you sure you can't move that thing?!~ Brad yelled. 

                ~If I had some time, I could probably find a way to get this working, but they'll be all over me before that,~ Toros said grimly. ~You two better get moving while they're recharging; you can still get to the border.~

                "No way!" Leena yelled. "I lost two of my friends already, I'm not losing my father too!" She turned off her comms. "Goldy! Is there a way we can lure them closer to your borders, away from the others?"

                _Perhaps, Goldy said, sounding thoughtful. __Why?_

                "I'm hoping we can get some help!" Leena said. "You have border patrols, right?!"

                _Better, actually, Goldy replied. She suddenly sounded downright malicious. __Very well.__ I think I can get them to chase us; are you sure you can get us there without getting destroyed?_

                "Positive," Leena said, stretching the truth. "Just get them to ignore my father!"

                _Done.__ I have to disengage from your zoid. Get ready to move as soon as you hear them roar._

                "What?"

_                Just trust me!_

                Leena was about to ask again, but there was no time. Seconds after Goldy had spoken, a ground-shattering roar echoed across the desert. She turned the Gunsniper's cameras long enough to see that the Warhounds were no longer paying attention to either the Hovercargo or the Shadowfox, then pushed her thrusters as hard as she could, gunning for Goldy's borders. 

                "How far is it?!" Leena yelled, not certain if Goldy could hear her.

                She could, apparently. _Not far! I have re-merged, and at this speed, it will take three minutes to reach help!_

_                Leena gritted her teeth. "Too close." She twisted the Gunsniper, adjusting her course._

                _Leena! What are you doing?!_

                "Running parallel to your borders!" she yelled back. "I want to draw these guys as far away from my father as I can! Then we can make a run for help!"

                _As you wish, Goldy said reluctantly. __But they are closing. On this course and speed, we can stay ahead of them for only ten more minutes._

                Leena's jaw tightened. "It'll have to be enough."

                It was very tense for the next few minutes. The Warhounds had expended most of their energy on the cannon blast; as a result, they could either chase her or shoot at her. They chose to give chase, running just slightly faster than the Gunsniper's jets could go, even with Goldy merged. Even so, Leena kept reminding herself that every second she led them on was one more she bought for the Hovercargo to escape.

                The trouble didn't start until the Warhounds had been in pursuit for five minutes. _LEENA! DODGE RIGHT!_

_                Goldy's sudden shout was all the warning Leena had. Acting instantly, she hurled the Gunsniper, just as another orange energy bolt seared past. "I thought they couldn't fire!"_

                _Not the linked blasts, but that was a single unit firing! They've recharged enough to manage that!_

_                "And if one's done, they all have!" Leena cursed. "Still three minutes to the border?!"_

                _If we head straight for it, yes!  
                She gritted her teeth. "I hope this is far enough." Pulling her controls, she turned hard towards the boundary line. "Transfer weapon power to the jets! We need more speed!"_

                _I'm doing everything I can! I- WATCH IT!!!_

_                Leena swerved, just dodging another blast. "Another single shot?!"_

                _Yes!_

                "This is going to be a long three minutes."

                _Keep griping and it won't be three seconds! DODGE!_

                She responded again, but this time too slowly. The next shot scraped the Gunsniper's right leg, tearing off armor and stabilizers. The zoid lurched, but kept going. Leena hastily checked her equipment with one eye. "Well, the jets better not fail, because the right leg isn't taking us anywhere!"

                _Time is down to one minute, forty seconds! We've almost made it!_

                The Warhounds fired again.

                Linked fire.

                The energy beam tore into the Gunsniper, shearing off the entire left leg this time, and sending its accompanying jet spinning away after it. Leena cried out as her zoid lurched, its suddenly off-balance jets sending it spinning headfirst into the sands. Her cockpit scraped a trench three feet deep into the sand and ten feet long as she ground to a halt.

                She groaned in pain as she tried to sit up. "Uhhhh… Goldy? You alive back there?"

                _More… or less, the organoid responded, also sounding shaky. __I disengaged myself from the zoid core to avoid injury, but that was still unsettling. Is anything still functioning?_

                "No," Leena said in a defeated tone. "I've got a command system freeze. Nothing's responding."

                _And the Warhounds are upon us, Goldy said, her voice seething with rage. __How close are we to the border?_

                "Too far," Leena said grimly. "I didn't get much further after they blasted my left leg off."

                _Then it is over. She tried to state it simply, as if it meant nothing, but Leena could hear the fear and rage in her voice. She heard it because she felt the same way. Neither of them was ready to die._

                But there was nothing she could do, not with her system frozen. She gripped the controls tightly, willing them to function, but they would not. For what felt like a long time, all she could do was stare at the three Warhounds standing over her.

                Abruptly, her radio crackled. {Attention, unknown unit! This is Western Patrol unit 6-4! Turn over the organoid merged with your craft, and you may live. Continue to resist, and you will die!}

                Leena frowned. "Goldy? Is it standard practice to issue surrender first? I thought they'd just kill us." 

                _They should, Goldy said, sounding confused, but also shrewd. __They are stalling for time. Perhaps they used too much energy in that last shot. She seemed to be thinking quickly. __Stall them as long as you can. I'm going to try and call for help. If we're lucky,  there is a patrol of our own close by._

_                "Let's hope we're lucky," Leena muttered. Then she turned on her own radio. "Um, hello? Who are you?"_

                {Uh-} This clearly wasn't the response the other had been expecting. {As I said, we're Western Patrol unit number 6-4. Hand over the-}

                "Just 6-4?" Leena asked, trying desperately to come up with some to keep them talking. "You don't have some other name?"

                {Other name?} a second voice asked, clearly baffled. 

                "You know, something you call yourselves to strike terror into the hearts of your foes!" Leena said, trying to sound encouraging. "A name enemies tremble to hear and fear to speak!"

                {Um… not really, no,} said Voice No. 1.

                {Actually, I've always liked 'The Western Scourge',} a third person said.

                {I've told you before, that name doesn't work!} Voice No. 2 said, sounding annoyed.

                {Why not?} Asked No. 3. {We're from the West, and we're a scourge on our enemies. That works.}

                {No, it doesn't,} retorted No. 1. {We'd need something like 'The Fiery Storm of the Western Front' to _really scare our enemies.}_

                Leena switched off her transmitter, but could still listen- in disbelief. Quietly, she murmured, "Goldy? Are they for real?"

                _I don't know. They're either serious or stalling, but either way, it doesn't matter. As long as they're bickering, it'll keep them from us. Now, just keep at it!_

_                She switched the receiver back on, and the three pilots came back on- still debating names. {I have __always said 'Western Sand Fire' was good!}_

                {You did not! You're always going on about how 'The Western Stampede' is the best!}

                |In another second, it won't matter what you call yourselves!|

                Goldy hissed in joy. _My people have come! __Look, from the South!_

                Leena turned to the sound of the new voice, where Goldy directed, and saw, approaching just over a row of dunes, a new group of fighters, at least ten of them. These units-

                She blinked in disappointment, feeling her gut twist once more. These didn't look like fighters. They were barely more than armored jeeps. True, they had thick armor, but there was no sign of any guns to speak of. 

                And yet, all she heard in new speaker's voice was confidence. Could these really be Goldy's people?

                The Western pilots clearly thought the same way Leena did. {Get out of here!} Voice No. 1 ordered condescendingly. {Your puny carriers are no match for three of the West's finest.}

                |You might be surprised,| the Southerner said, voice ice cold. It also seemed to be mechanically altered. |We'll give you three seconds to leave, or we open fire.|

                Leena listened as the Westerners laughed as one. She had to admit, things didn't look good. She was out of commission, the Warhounds were recharging their guns, and Goldy's reinforcements were seriously lacking. 

                Or so she thought. 

                The Southerner sighed. |So be it, then. It's too bad. We'd didn't want to kill your organoids, but now it seems they have to die with you.|

                The Westerners stopped laughing. {You try it,} Voice No. 3 snarled. {We've got enough firepower in _one of us to kill you all!}_

                |Guess again,| the Southerner said, this time with grim satisfaction. |All units, activate AGs 122 through 147, now!|

                It was as if the sand split in a dozen different areas; hidden panels opened up from the featureless ground, and suddenly three Warhounds found themselves staring down the barrels of twenty five very large cannons. 

                _My people's strongest weapon, Goldy said proudly. __Thousands of automated weapons underneath the soil.__ At the call of any Southern pilot who needs them. _

_                |I believe you're sufficiently outgunned,| the Southern pilot said calmly. |You can either leave now, and spare both yourselves, and your organoids, or you can force us to open fire. I'd suggest taking the first option.|_

                The Warhounds stayed where they were for another few seconds, but ultimately, turned away and raced back they way they had come as fast as they could. The guns stayed trained on them until they finally vanished over a row of dunes.

                Leena let out a shaky breath. "That was too close."

                _Not at all, Goldy said, sounding ecstatic. __Now, come! I want you to meet my people!_

                She blinked. "You know these pilots?"

                _No, but they will know me, and be more than willing to help us get to the capital city. Now, come! Open your cockpit and step out! I'll be out just as soon as I've locked down the systems; we don't want anyone trying to steal your Gunsniper. Goldy sounded like a little kid urging someone to hurry and open a present. _

                Confused, excited, and nervous all at once, Leena forced open her cockpit and stepped onto the sands. Outside of her zoid, the vehicles seemed much bigger, and slightly more intimidating. However, it wasn't long before a hatch opened on the lead vehicle, and the pilot stuck their head out, and climbed down a ladder to the ground. Leena was surprised, as they drew closer, to see that it was a woman. She wore a dark brown outfit, and metal helmet. Her face was heavily tanned, and she had rather hard eyes- which ran over her Gunsniper with barely concealed awe.

                "Um… hi," Leena said uneasily. 

                The woman looked down at her- not hard to do, considering she was a good six inches taller than Leena. "Did you send the distress signal we received?"

                "In a manner of speaking," Leena admitted. "My friend sent the signal. She's still merged with my zoid."

                The pilot nodded slowly. "I thought it was an organoid distress call. And that machine… what did you call it?"

                "A zoid," Leena replied, starting feel a little uneasy. What was taking Goldy so long? "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

                "I'll explain that as soon as _you explain a few things," the woman said sharply, looking away from the Gunsniper. "Who are you? Experimental weapons division? I've never seen a weapon like that."_

                _She is with me, Goldy's voice said suddenly; it sounded different to Leena, as if it were echoing. __And unless you want to be broken back to a level one fighter, you will show her respect._

                "Who would speak to a combat level twelve like that?" the woman demanded sharply. "Not even an organoid is allowed to talk to me like that!"

                _Not even THIS organoid? Goldy demanded. She stood, a golden figure standing on top of Leena's cockpit lid. In the blue sunlight, she looked magnificent. Leena looked from her friend, then back to the woman- and stared in astonishment._

                The pilot's face had paled, and she was staring at Goldy with nothing short of reverence on her face. Gone was her sharp manner, her cold attitude. She simply gazed at the organoid like she had never seen one before. 

                And then, just when Leena thought things couldn't get any stranger, she dropped her head and fell to her knees, in a sort of bow. Several sharp metallic noises filled the air, and out of each of the ten vehicles came more people- it looked like a crew of five to each. In seconds, there were fifty people kneeling on the desert sands, helmets removed. 

                Leena looked at Goldy. "Um… why are they doing that?"

                _Because they should, the organoid replied simply. __I believe you have something to say to my friend, combatant?_

                "Yes, I do," the Southern woman said. She looked at Leena, and all her military attitude was gone. When she faced Leena now, it was with nothing but humbled pride. "I beg your forgiveness, mistress. I did not realize who you were."

                Leena stared in silence for a minute, then turned very slowly toward Goldy. Vain as she was sometimes, even she wasn't foolish enough to think this sudden change was because of anything other than Goldy. "What," she asked quietly, "is going on here?"

                _I will explain, Goldy assured her. __But not here.__ It is not safe. You! She barked at the commander, who suddenly leapt up. __Begin preparations to bring her vessel into the city capital. Salvage all components. Leave nothing to the desert sands. Then take us into the city along with it._

                "At once, my Priestess!" the woman said. She turned to her forces. "You heard her! Get to work!" The soldiers leapt off the ground, and started rigging lines to the Gunsniper.

                Leena couldn't get over it. "You're the _leader here?!"_

                _I will explain, but all in good time, Goldy assured her._

_                "What about my father? And Brad?" Leena asked. "We left them way back there, remember?"_

                _Don't worry about them, Goldy assured her. __I will send some others back the way we came. They can escort your father and teammate to the city. __For now, we need to get into the capital city ourselves. It's not safe out here. _

                "Okay," Leena said, still feeling shocked. "But then I want some _answers."_

                                                                                                                * * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: _A day later than I expected, but no biggie. I respect FFN's decision to shut down for 9/11. Anyway, here's the next chapter of Beyond. __I should let you know that even though the story isn't over, Beyond __is. I felt like if the story went much longer, it would start to drag, so I'm starting a third story in this arc. It'll pick up right where this one leaves off, so don't worry about me leaving the Blitz Team hanging. Chapter one should be up in maybe a week, and it's going to be titled Divided We Stand. __See you then!_


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